AIKEN, S.C. – Freshman Griffin Tarver capped off the best overall tournament of his young Charleston Southern career, tallying an Even-par 70 during third-round play to lead the Buccaneers to their lowest team aggregate of the 2021-22 season at the prestigious Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate Tuesday.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
The first-year player from Tega Cay registered the low score of the last-18 holes for CSU, using five birdies for his career-low round, bettering the 71 he posted in the third round of his inaugural event, the Graeme McDowell Intercollegiate Sept. 28, 2021, in Gadsden, Alabama.

In Aiken, Tarver birdied the par-4, 423-yard No. 13 and par-4, 338-yard No. 15 among his first-five holes to quickly get under par. He stayed at 1-under through 17 with back-to-back pars but a bogey on No. 18 and double on No. 1 put him back on the plus-side. He rallied with two more birdies in a three-hole span, including the par-4, 368-yard No. 2 and the par-4, 388-yard No. 4, settling back to Even par. He was just 1-over as he ended the front nine thanks to four pars in the last-five holes, including three-in-a-row from No. 7 through No. 9, before he dropped in his final birdie of the day on his last hole, the par-5, 482-yard No. 10.

TEAM SCORES STRONG
Thanks to Tarver's efforts, along with everyone else's, the Bucs carded a team-low 877 for the tournament, their lowest 54-hole total of the campaign. Charleston Southern tied for ninth on the team leaderboard, its best finish this season, with the 292 in Tuesday's final round marking its best during the last-18 holes of any tournament so far this year.

CARROLL RANKS HIGH
CSU's leader after day one, Ben Carroll, posted his second-straight 2-over par 72 to finish in a tie for 14th among the 75 individuals. His final 18 holes featured back-to-back birdies on the par-4, 388-yard No. 17 and par-4, 306-yard No. 18 as well as two, four-hole runs of consecutive pars, from No. 4 through No. 7 and No. 13 through No. 16. He also started both nines with back-to-back pars, on No. 1 and No. 2 as well as No. 9 and No. 10, in a near mirror image scorecard on the front and back.

WILLIS EVEN EXCEPT FOR FIVE
Five bogies dotted an otherwise par-heavy round for Ethan Willis, who landed in a tie for 41st among the individuals following his final-round 75. Willis was never able to get under par on any hole Tuesday, playing 13 pars, including five-in-a-row that he wrapped around from No. 18 through No. 4, while another four straight came from No. 13 through No. 16.

BATTLE TO THE FINISH
The other two Bucs out on the Palmetto Golf Club links were Caleb Loudin and Alan Smith, who ended their respective tournaments with near identical scores. Loudin registered two birdies, including on No. 10 to start his day, as well as on the par-4, 458-yard No. 5. He also contributed 10 pars with his longest stretch matching Willis, from No. 18 through No. 4 in addition to No. 12 through No. 15.

Smith joined Tarver and Loudin as those who birdied No. 10 but it would be his only one of the round. He was 1-over par on the front nine with seven pars and a lone bogey on No. 5 but a double bogey on No. 9 capped the round, giving him a 6-over par 76.

THREE WEEKS TO PREPARE
Charleston Southern will take the next-three weeks off in preparation for its next tournament, the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate at the True Blue Golf Club in Pawleys Island. The event will be held March 28-29.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN INDIVIDUALS
T14. Ben Carroll, +3 (69-72-72—213)
T41. Ethan Willis, +11 (71-75-75—221)
T50. Griffin Tarver, +13 (77-76-70—223)
T56. Alan Smith, +15 (75-74-76—225)
T56. Caleb Loudin, +15 (73-77-75—225)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. No. 43 South Carolina, -8 (275-282-275—832)
2. Virginia, +2 (287-280-275—842)
3. VCU, +12 (287-283-282—852)
4. USC Aiken, +16 (289-285-282—856)
5. Virginia Tech, +23 (292-291-280—863)
6. Wofford, +24 (285-288-291—864)
7. Furman, +29 (294-296-279—869)
8. Presbyterian, +32 (286-297-289—872)
T9. Charleston Southern, +37 (288-287-292—877)
T9. Samford, +37 (295-294-288—877)
11. Gardner-Webb, +38 (291-293-294—878)
12. High Point, +41 (287-309-285—881)
13. Temple, +45 (293-297-295—885)
14. Francis Marion, +48 (301-291-296—888)
15. Dartmouth, +57 (307-294-296—897)