NEED TO KNOW:
Piedmont Leader: 1st - MATT ARIZA; 73-68 = 141 (-3)
As a Team: B Team (4th of 12); C Team (6th of 12)
Event Information: 12 teams; 64 golfers
The Course: The Orchard Golf & Country Club (Clarkesville, Ga. - Par 72; 6,819 yards)

CLARKESVILLE, Ga. - Piedmont senior MATT ARIZA ran away with the individual title at the Piedmont Fall Invitational as play concluded on Tuesday afternoon at The Orchard Golf & Country Club in Clarkesville, Georgia.

Ariza fired a career-best round of 4-under 68 to dominate the field of 64, winning by seven shots over his next closest competitor. 

 

From the very beginning, it was clear Ariza brought his A game, as he made birdie on the very first hole and added back-to-back birdies at holes 4 and 5 to make the turn at -3 for the day. The inward nine brought more of the same. He made birdie at 14 and 16, book-ending his lone bogey of the day at 15.

This marks the second time in the last three iterations of this event that a Piedmont player has defended the home course as Matthew Leemann won the individual crown in 2019.

Ariza was not the only Lion to go low on Tuesday. Freshman ADAM ROGERS delivered a career-best round of 2-under 70 thanks to a fantastic 2-under 34 on the back nine. Rogers vaulted all the way up the leaderboard to a T-3 finish.

 

Junior ERIC PENLAND also delivered a top 10 finish, closing out the event with a 5-over 77 to finish T-8.

Placing just outside the top 10 were KAYDEN WHITE and RYAN COLWELL, who delivered T-12 finishes. White improved his score by five strokes from Monday, finishing with a 2-over 74.

CONNOR HIXSON (82), CAMERON LUCAS (86) and CONNOR LANE (89) all closed out their tournament with rounds in the 80's.

As a team, Piedmont's B Team was boosted by Ariza's low round and moved up to fourth on the leaderboard with a final round 303 while the C Team fell back to 6th with a 322.

Emory's B Team won the team title by six shots over Methodist's and Hampden-Sydney's B Teams. 

Up next, the Lions' main squad will head to Florida to take part in the Golfweek DIII Fall Invitational, beginning next Sunday, Oct. 16 in Miramar Beach, Florida.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Ariza's 68 marks the third different Lion to card a round in the 60's this season, joining JOSH HEBRINK and FRED ROBERTS IV.

LIONS ON THE LEADERBOARD:
1st - MATT ARIZA (73-68) -3
T-3rd - ADAM ROGERS (79-70) +5
T-8th - ERIC PENLAND (74-77) +7
T-12th - RYAN COLWELL (74-79) +9
T-12th - KAYDEN WHITE (79-74) +9
T-34th - CONNOR HIXSON (81-82) +19
43rd - CAMERON LUCAS (81-86) +23
T-48th - CONNOR LANE (81-89) +26

HOW TO FOLLOW: 
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on Twitter: @PiedmontLions, Instagram: @PiedmontLions, and Facebook. To follow each Piedmont athletic program on social media, use the Social Media Directory at PiedmontLions.com or click here.