Liberty teammates conquer Rees Jones Invitational at Daufuskie

A smile slowly crept over Isaiah Logue's face as his ball neared Haig Point's 17th hole Tuesday, finally breaking into a look of full-on delight when his 30-footer fell into the cup for a clutch par save.

Watching from the 17th tee, Liberty teammate Gabe Lench narrowed his focus.

"I'm thinking I have to make birdie here," Lench said, "or I don't have a chance."

The freshman made it happen, striping a 5-iron to a foot of the hole that sparked a birdie-birdie finish and left the teammates as individual co-champions of the Rees Jones Invitational on Daufuskie Island.

"That was very rough out there," said Lench, who clawed his way back in a roller-coaster round that found him 4-over par through seven holes before rebounding to a 1-over 73. "It's a great feeling. I wanted to come out with a plan and do the best I could. It feels good to win a tournament again."

Liberty ran off with the team title for the second time in three years, breaking par as a squad for the second consecutive day on the way to a 21-shot romp over Campbell.

The Flames also won in 2013 with a senior-dominated squad, then went through a year of rebuilding. They came to Haig Point with four sophomores and Lench, improving their scores each day.

"None of them had been here before, so it takes a couple of days to get used to the course," coach Jeff Thomas said. "But we've always played pretty well here. It was good to come back."

Logue posted the best final round with a 3-under-par 69, starting his day by holing out a wedge for birdie at the par-4 first. He also suffered a double bogey at No. 9, but played his final five holes in 2-under to grab the clubhouse lead.

Logue nudged in front with a birdie at the par-5 14th hole, then drained a 20-footer at No. 15 for another birdie. His biggest shot, though, may have been that par save at No. 17.

After going long with his tee shot, Logue faced an awkward bunker stance with one foot in the sand and the other on the bank. His blast went long, setting up the sigh-of-relief par.

"I knew most everybody was going to hit the green and make a par, so a bogey there would certainly put me one back," he said. "I was very pleased to make that putt."

It also raised Lench's game. After his birdie at No.17, the Floridian literally ran after his drive at the par-5 18th to see how Logue was faring up ahead.

Seeing Logue make par, Lench grabbed his hybrid and smoked a low screamer from 241 yards that rolled to the back fringe.

Given a chance to win with an eagle, Lench's putt agonizingly slid past the hole before he tapped in for a shared crown, which came in just his second collegiate start.

"My first college win," he said. "I'll take it."

Follow golf reporter Jeff Shain on Twitter at twitter.com/jeffshain.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Liberty teammates conquer Rees Jones Invitational at Daufuskie."