GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The fourth-ranked Georgia Southwestern men's golf team finished 16th out of 20 teams at the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional held over the weekend at the par-72, 7,166-yard Chattahoochee Golf Club. The top five teams from each of the four regional sites advance to the national championship held May 21-25 in Winter Garden, Fla. Georgia Southwestern was in the most challenging region, battling eight other teams ranked in the top 15 in the country and 16 teams in the top 30 overall.

Payne Sells led the Hurricanes with a 3-over 219 over the three-round event to finish tied for 22nd place out of 105 golfers. His 72 in the opening round matched teammate Joao Costa's score in Round 2 for GSW's lowest 18 of the tournament. Sells played the Par 4 holes even for the weekend, which tied him for fifth overall. He had 11 birdies over the three rounds. Jack Tharrington moved up 11 spots on Saturday after matching his Round 2 score of 74 to finish tied for 54th at 8-under overall. Davis Aaron finished third for the Hurricanes and tied for 70th overall with a 10-over, two strokes back of Tharrington and three ahead of Costa, who finished tied for 86th. Mateo Quiroga posted a 16-over and tied for 97th. 

The top-ranked team in the country, North Georgia, won the event with a 9-under par. UNG was the only team to finish under par. Coker University took second place at 1-over. Jack Vajda from North Georgia won the individual title with an 8-under 208, a stroke ahead of runner-up Joseba Torres from Nova Southeastern.

GSW won three events in 2023-24 and reached as high as No. 3 in the country during the season. The Hurricanes qualified for their fifth-consecutive regional appearance and will have to replace seniors Sells and Tharrington who wrapped up their collegiate careers over the weekend. 

2024 NCAA DII SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGIONAL - TEAM SCORES

GSW SCORES