Liberty runs away with Rees Jones title at Haig Point

Liberty's Niklas Lindstrom took medalist honors with a 3-under-par total of 213 for 54 holes and the Flames had the top four individual scorers as they cruised to a 24-stroke victory over East Carolina at the fifth annual Rees Jones Collegiate Invitational at Haig Point Club on Daufuskie Island.

Host South Carolina finished third in the 12-team standings.

Lindstrom, a junior who didn't make the travel squad for this tournament a year ago, shot a 2-under-par 70 Tuesday to finish ahead of his second-place teammates by six strokes. Ian McConnnell, a junior from Riverview, Fla., who led after the first 36 holes with a 2-under 142, finished tied with Max McKay, a senior from Jacksonville, Fla., and Chase Marinell, a junior from Ft. Myers, Fla., at 3-over 219.

Liberty's team score of 6-over-par 870 in the play-five-count-four format was lowest in the tournament's short history. East Carolina rallied to overtake host South Carolina for second place with a total of 894.

The Gamecocks, who were led by Dykes Harbin, were third with 896. Harbin, a senior from Augusta, Ga., posted a 5-over total of 221 to take sixth place among individuals.

Defending team champion Kennesaw State (2010 and 2011 winner) finished eighth among the 12 teams with a 921 total.

"I wanted to break par today and finish with an under-par total," said Lindstrom, a 22-year-old who was a top-20 ranked amateur in Sweden before coming to school at Liberty in Lynchburg, Va., sight unseen in August 2010. "I've been working on my short game and my driving, and that has been the key. I played well in my last tournament and I felt I had my game going.

"Last year, I didn't play good enough and I was outside the team for this tournament. Now I have rebounded and it feels really good."

Lindstrom's went 73-70-70 and his final round was good enough to tie for low score on the day. It was one of just four scores under par for the third round. Overall, there were only seven scores under par for the three rounds on the 7,380-yard, par 72 Rees Jones-designed course and Lindstrom had two of them.

"I'm excited about how well the guys played," eighth-year head coach Jeff Thomas said. "This team has a lot of potential. I think we can be even better if everyone starts playing well. If they start pushing each other, the sky's the limit."

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Liberty runs away with Rees Jones title at Haig Point