Greensboro College Men’s Golf Finishes Tied For Fourth At NCAA Championship

Men’s Golf Finishes Tied For Fourth At NCAA Championship
(Courtesy of Wes Gullett, Sports Information Director at Greensboro College)

HOWIE-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – Greensboro College’s quest for a third men’s golf national championship came up short Friday as the Pride finished in a fourth place tie at the 2017 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship.

The Pride entered the final day in a fourth-place tie but struggled early, and could not quite recover, shooting a 11-over-par, 299, on the par-72 El Campeon Golf Course at the Mission Inn Resort & Club.

“We got off to an extremely slow start,” Coach Jim Cantamessa said. “We had a lot of good looks throughout the round but just could not get our putts to drop.”

“The guys made a late push and competed all the way to the very end. I am very proud of their performance all week.”

Freshman Grant Powell paced Greensboro over the final 18-holes with a one-over-par, 73.

Powell got off to a tough start as he fell to two-over-par through three holes, but was able to settle in over the final 15 holes.

Following a bogey on the par-4 third, Powell pared the next 11 holes before recording his lone birdie of the round on the par-3 15. Powell then continued his par streak over the final three holes.

“I hung in there all day,” Powell said. “I took it one shot at a time and to go bogey free over the final 15 holes was awesome. It was a good finish to the year.

“I had a lot of nerves this week playing on this stage as a freshman, but I am happy that I could give our team a good round to close things out,” Powell added. “This was my first taste of this and I cannot wait to do it again next year.”

Sean O’Connor, who finished the 54-hole event at seven-over-par, carded at two-over-par, 74, on the day.

After bogeying the opening hole of the day, O’Connor quickly got back to even-par with a birdie on the par-3 second but found himself at three-over following nine holes.

Despite recording a bogy on the par-4 ninth, O’Connor recorded birdies on the 10th, 14th and 16th holes before recording a double-bogy on the par-4 18 to finish the round.

Luke Grogan tallied two birdies on the afternoon en route to a three-over-par, 75, to finish the event at nine-over-par.

Levi Grogan carded a five-over-par, 77, to also finish at nine-over-par, while Scott Campbell, who recorded an eight-over-par round, finished the tournament at 20-over-par.

“Our performance this week shows that our program has a really bright future,” Cantamessa added. “We do not have any seniors on our team and I am really looking forward to making another run at it next season.”

For more information on Greensboro College men’s golf, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.