15^th-ranked Clayton State finishes 13th at Aflac/Cougar Invitational
Lakers’ Binfield finishes tied for 16th at 1-over-par 143

COLUMBUS, Ga. - October 6, 2009 - After opening tied for seventh after the opening round on Monday, the Clayton State Laker men's golf finished 13th overall on Tuesday at the Aflac/Cougar Invitational at the Green Island Country Club.

Clayton State shot a final round score of 292 and finished a combined 583 for the two-round event. The 15th-ranked Lakers edged Newberry, winners of the State Farm-Laker Invitational two weeks ago, by one stroke, second-ranked Columbus State by three strokes, West Georgia by four strokes and Armstrong Atlantic by five strokes. Clayton State finished three strokes off the pace of Nova Southeastern, sixth-ranked Florida Southern and Georgia Southwestern.

Clayton State was tied for sixth and aiming for a Top Five finish with four players remaining on the final three holes. However, the Lakers could not finish strong, recording five bogeys and a double-bogey.

Third-ranked Barry won the 21-team event in convincing fashion with a 7-under-par 561. The Buccaneers fired a 6-under 278 for the final round, finishing 10 strokes ahead of eighth-ranked North Alabama.

Individually for Clayton State, senior All-American Wade Binfield finished tied for 16th overall at 1-over 143. He finished six strokes off the pace of individual low medalist Craig Gibson from Georgia Southwestern.

In addition to Binfield, freshman Michael Lee finished tied for 25th at 2-over 144, while senior Neil Thomas finished tied for 52nd with a 5-over 147. Rounding out the Laker scoring was junior Adam Novakowski finishing tied for 74th with an 8-over 150, and sophomore Andrew Bate finished tied for 77th with a 9-over 151.

Clayton State plays its final tournament of the fall season on Oct. 19-20 in the Indian Bayou Classic in Destin, Fla.