2008-09 Golf Outlook

Head coach Jack Jensen begins his 33rd season as Guilford’s golf coach with one of his youngest teams as the Quakers' fall lineup is comprised of a senior, two juniors and four freshmen. Guilford finished second in the 2007 ODAC Tournament, which meant it needed one of three available at-large invitations to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Despite 14th-place ranking in the final 2007 Golf World/Nike Coaches’ Golf Poll, Guilford was not invited and missed the national playoffs for first time in eight years and just the sixth time in Jensen's tenure.

“The returners are determined to not let what happened in the spring reoccur this season,” Jensen said. The veterans' experience and strong summer performances, plus the addition of some talented newcomers, give Jensen and his team hope for a return to nationals in 2009.

The Quakers lost all four freshmen from last year’s team and need to fill two vacancies in the top-five rotation. Guilford has relied on a talented freshman or two in the past, so Jensen knows how get the most from newcomers to the college game. Junior Peter Latimer occupied the top spot in Guilford's lineup for most of 2007-08 and returns as a two-time First Team All-ODAC selection with a 75.43 career stroke average. In the summer of 2008 he tied for first in the East of Scotland Amateur Tournament and won the Lundin Golf Country Club Tournament. Senior Burton Wood also a First Team All-ODAC pick, enjoyed a strong summer as well. He finished 31st of 168 in the 2008 Eastern Amateur and was among the top 15 percent at U.S. Amateur qualifying. Junior Brian Creghan, who may have made the biggest strides over the summer, received honorable mention All-ODAC recognition and the league’s sportsmanship award in 2007. He placed first in a Pennsylvania State Amateur qualifying tournament and missed qualifying for 2008 U.S. Amateur by four strokes.

A couple local students highlight Guilford's newcomers this year. Freshman Jeff Boyan, a three-time all-state golfer, was the runner up in the 2007 North Carolina 2-A State Tournament for Ledford High School in nearby Thomasville, N.C. He edged Guilford alumnus Patrick Brady '87 to win the Reidsville Invitational in September. Freshman Dusty Roberts of Rockingham County High School brings unusual experience to Guilford having already competed in the U.S. Amateur Championships. “In my 32 years of coaching, I’ve only had three or four other players to play in the U.S. Amateur while in school,” Jensen said. Rounding out the freshman class are Corey Dillon and Andrew Thayer, both from Vermont, who showed promise during fall qualifying rounds.

Jensen suggests the Quakers are much better than last year and will contend for Guilford's third NCAA title in eight years so long as the top-five students stay healthy. “It’s a team, a shared responsibility. I expect us to have a very good year and better than the past couple of years,” he said.

Guilford typically plays one of the nation's toughest Division III schedules and 2008-09 is no different. The Quakers open the fall campaign at Elon University's Sea Trail Intercollegiate in Sunset Beach, N.C., where they will face a number of Division I programs. They will also compete against Division I talent in October at the Duke Coca-Cola Classic at the Duke Golf Club. The Quakers will face several of the nation's top Division III teams in the Greensboro College and Oglethorpe Invitationals and conclude the fall season with the 21st annual Tom and Bettie O'Briant Memorial at the at the newly renovated Cardinal Golf Country Club.

Guilford opens the spring portion of its schedule at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. Pine needles has hosted three USGA women's championships since 1996, including the 2007 U.S. Women's Open. While the final arrangements are incomplete, Jensen is considering taking the team to a tourney at the PGA Club in Florida it may be the site of an upcoming NCAA Division III Championship. A return to Paradise Point G.C. in Camp Lejeune, N.C., is set as Guilford again plays the 54-hole Marine Federal Credit Union Intercollegiate. This year's ODAC Championships will be held at the Bay Creek Golf Resort in Cape Charles, Va.