Buckeyes Finish 4th at Valspar Collegiate

FINAL RESULTS

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State carded its lowest final round of the season and finished tied for fourth in one of the strongest fields of the season and the Valspar Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday.

The Buckeyes posted a final round of 8-under 276 to finish tied with Florida State for fourth place at 13-under par. Of the top nine teams in the final standings, Ohio State was the only one not ranked in the Top 15 of the current Golfstat rankings.

Junior All-American Maxwell Moldovan continued his stellar season. He made six more birdies in his round on Tuesday, finishing with 18 for the tournament, which was tied for second-most. Moldovan had just one blemish in his final round 68, a triple-bogey 7 at No. 9. That was his fifth hole of the day, and he rebounded well. But he would finish at 9-under par (67-69-68) just two shots back of medalist Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech.

This was Moldovan’s fifth Top 5 finish in eight events this season. He also finished 9-under par at the Valspar two years ago as a freshman when he was runner-up. In nine career rounds at The Floridian Golf Club, Moldovan is averaging 68.56 and he has made 45 birdies.

JonErik Alford is playing some of the best golf of his career as of late and he posted a strong finish this week, matching Moldovan with a final round 68. That was one stroke of his lowest career round of 67 which also came in the final round of last year’s Valspar Collegiate. The Johns Creek, Ga., native finished the tournament at a career-best 5-under par and tied for 11^th, which was his best finish in a full field event.

Neal Shipley was the third Buckeye to post a final round 68 as he made five birdies and an eagle in his round on Tuesday. Shipley finished the tournament in a tied for 42^nd at 2-over par. Adam Wallin and Jackson Chandler each finished the event at 6-over, following final rounds of 76 and 72, respectively.

The Buckeyes now have four Top 5 team finishes on the season and will look to keep the run of good play going next week as they will be right back in southern Florida for the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines in Naples. The 54-hole event runs April 2-4.

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