SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Andrew Novak shot a final-round 7-under-par 65 and nearly pushed the Wofford men's golf team to its first ever Wofford Invitational victory, but the Terriers came up five shots short.
 
The Terriers began Tuesday's final round of the 28th annual Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational at The Country Club of Spartanburg two shots back of 36-hole leader Gardner-Webb. By the turn, they had overtaken the Runnin' Bulldogs for the lead and pushed their advantage to as many as 10 shots when Novak eagled the par-5 15th.
 
However, it slipped away. Wofford's top-four scorers posted six bogeys and four double-bogeys through the final nine, including two at the par-5 17th. Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb got 10 birdies, including five down the stretch from Vincent Blanchette, to regain the lead and win its first Wofford Invitational with a three-round total of 17-under-par 847.
 
Blanchette's birdies at 12, 14, 15, 17 and the closing par-4 18th gave him a final-round 69. More importantly, it won him the individual title with a new Wofford Invitational scoring record of 14-under-par 202, breaking the previous mark of 12-under-par set by Vaita Guillaume of Campbell in 2012.
 
Novak was bogey-free with five birdies and an eagle through the final 10 holes to card his 65. It tied Steve Marino's tournament record for low third round set in 2002.
 
Junior Jeremy Grab also finished in the top-10 for the Terriers. Grab started on the first and carded five birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 5-under 30. After another birdie at 10 pushed him to 6-under for the day and 10-under for the tournament, disaster struck. The Charleston native's round came undone with back-to-back double-bogeys at the short par-4, 274-yard 11th and par-4, 339-yard 12th. He regained his composure with four straight pars and was still 2-under on his round heading to 17, but bogeyed the final two for an even-par 72. He finished the tournament at 4-under-par 212.
 
Senior Grant Waggoner began the day tied with Grab in seventh at 4-under-par and posted a final-round 5-over 77 to finish in 23rd. Waggoner made the turn at 1-over and was 2-over heading to 17, where he suffered a double-bogey followed by a bogey at the par-4 18th. He finished the tournament with a 1-over-par 217.
 
Sophomore Evan Grenus posted a round of 2-over 74, but also suffered down the stretch with a bogey on 16 and double-bogey on 17. He finished the tournament in 29th at 3-over-par 219.
 
Sophomore Drake Cassidy rounded out Wofford's team competitors. He posted a final-round 75 and closed out the tournament in 74th at 13-over-par 229.
 
Five other Terriers competed as individuals. They were highlighted by junior Cam Andrade, whose final-round 2-under 70 pushed him 19 spots up the leaderboard. Andrade finished 58th at 8-over-par for the tournament.
 
The Terriers look ahead to the 2016 Southern Conference Championship, which takes place Sunday, April 24, through Tuesday, April 26, at Pinehurst No. 9.
 
28^th Annual Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational
Country Club of Spartanburg – Spartanburg, S.C.
Par 72 – 6,648 Yards
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD

1. Gardner-Webb	-17 (847)
2. Wofford	-12 (852)
3. Army West Point	-9 (855)
T4. (47) Charleston Southern	-5 (859)
T4. USC Upstate	-5 (859)
6. Radford	-3 (861)
7. Bethune-Cookman	+2 (866)
8. Francis Marion	+6 (870)
9. Georgia Southern	+8 (872)
T10. Coastal Carolina	+12 (876)
T10. Appalachian State	+12 (876)
12. Presbyterian College	+14 (878)
13. Austin Peay	+15 (879)
14. High Point	+20 (884)
15. Longwood	+24 (888)
16. Stetson	+49 (913)

 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD

1. Vincent Blanchette, Gardner-Webb	-14 (68-65-69—202)^
T2. Andrew Novak, Wofford	-10 (70-71-65—206)
T2. (17) Austin James, Charleston So.	-10 (69-69-68—206)
T4. Chris Jones, Gardner-Webb	-7 (68-71-70—209)
T4. Dean Sakata, Army West Point	-7 (71-68-70—209)
T6. Ryan Cornfield, USC Upstate	-5 (67-74-70—211)
T6. Patrick Moriarty, App State	-5 (70-71-70—211)
T8. Jeremy Grab, Wofford	-4 (68-72-72—212)
T8. Nick Brediger, Radford	-4 (70-70-72—212)
T8. Davis Parker, Prebyterian	-4 (73-67-72—212)
T8. Marcus Plunkett, Army West Point	-4 (70-71-71—212)
T8. Joel Ramirez, Bethune-Cookman	-4 (69-69-74—212)
--	--
T23. Grant Waggoner, Wofford	+1 (69-71-77—217)
T29. Evan Grenus, Wofford	+3 (74-71-74—219)
T58. *Cam Andrade, Wofford	+8 (76-78-70—224)
T67. *Patrick Langdon, Wofford	+10 (75-78-73—226)
T71. *Ole Martin Davanger, Wofford	+12 (73-78-77—228)
T74. Drake Cassidy, Wofford	+13 (77-77-75—229)
T78. *Joshua Allen, Wofford	+14 (81-78-71—230)
T81. *Patrick Bridges, Wofford	+15 (77-78-76—231)

 
^ New Wofford Invitational scoring record
* Denotes player competing as an individual
- National rankings in parentheses