AUBURN, Ala. - Georgia Southern junior golfer Parker Claxton wrapped up his season with a strong showing at the NCAA Auburn Regional, finishing tied for 20th in a field of 69 at the Auburn University Club. Claxton was selected for the field as an individual competitor after a season which saw him post the 15th-lowest scoring average in program history.
Claxton shot an even-par 72 in the first round with a three birdies and then moved up the leaderboard nine spots after shooting a 71with three birdies in Tuesday's second round. The Claxton, Georgia, native finished off the tournament with a 76 to record a 219 for the event.
"What an awesome week at NCAA Regionals," GS coach Carter Collins said. "I'm really proud of Parker and how he competed each shot from start to finish. He picked up a top 20 individually and continues to get better each and every tournament. This course was very long (7,550) and Parker did a great job of adapting his game to the course and competing. It was special to watch. Big things are ahead! Hail Southern!"
Claxton's season scoring average was 71.49, coming in 35 rounds. He took runner-up honors at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate, shooting a 208 (-8) and tied for third at the Schenkel Invitational with a 210 (-6). In all, he recorded three top-five finishes and seven top-20 finishes and shot par or better in 18 rounds and six tournaments. He tallied 107 birdies, along with three eagles and 400 pars, all team highs.
He'll enter his senior season with a carer average of 72.06 in 95 rounds, which is currently tied for the fifth-best in program history.
It was just the fifth time in program history that an individual earned a spot in the NCAA Championship for the program (Bo Fennell in 1990 and 1991; Aron Price in 2004 and Steven Fisk in 2018).
Burke up for coach of the year
Georgia Southern head women's golf coach Mimi Burke was named to the Division I Jackie Steinmann Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) National Coach of the Year Presented by Golf Pride Watch List on Tuesday afternoon. Burke was one of 24 coaches named to the watch list.
Burke is in her fourth season at the helm of the Georgia Southern women's golf team. This season, Burke has led the Eagles to its first NCAA National Championship appearance in program history. Additionally, she led the squad to six individual team titles and a second place finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championships this season. The Eagles ranked as high as #33 in the Clippd national rankings, which marks the highest in program history.
Georgia Southern finished tied for second in just its second appearance in an NCAA Regional shooting 288-283-283=854 (-10) to finish tied with Kansas State. In her first season with the Eagles, she guided the squad to its first Sun Belt Championship title and NCAA Regionals berth in 2022. That same season she was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Georgia Southern begins play in the NCAA Championship Finals at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., on Friday as one of 30 teams who will play for the national championship in women's golf. The field will be cut to 15 after three rounds of stroke play, then to eight teams following the fourth round of stroke play. The quarterfinals and semifinals of match play will be played on Tuesday, with the match play finals played on Wednesday.
