Men's Golf Releases (2004-05) - NCAA Championships - Guilford College
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GUILFORD COLLEGE WINS SECOND NCAA DIVISION III GOLF TITLE
Howey-In-The-Hills, FL (05/12/05) -- Behind first-place efforts by Colin Clark and Dave Patterson, Guilford College's men's golf team won its second NCAA Division III National Championship in four years Thursday at the Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort. The Quakers started the day with a 20-stroke lead and clinched the title by shooting a two-over-par 290, the lowest score in the fourth and final round on the par-72 El Campeon Course. The Quakers' 25-stroke win over second-place Redlands stands seventh in NCAA Division III history and is the largest victory margin since the 1999 tournament.
Clark captured the medalist title among 120 competitors by winning a one-hole playoff with Patterson. After both players missed short par putts on the 18th hole of regulation, the teammates returned to the 18th hole for a playoff where Clark made a par-four and Patterson shot a five. Clark, who received the Outback Steakhouse Arnold Palmer Award as the tournament medalist, becomes the Quakers' first NCAA individual national champion in any sport. He joins Rob Odom '87 and Bill Brooks '83 as Guilford's national golf tournament medalists. Odom won the 1986 NAIA Tournament and Brooks captured the 1983 NAIA crown. By virtue of their top-six finishes, Clark and Patterson earned First Team PING All-America recognition, along with junior teammate Brant Stovall, who placed fifth.
Guilford also won the NCAA Division III title in 2002, the school's first NCAA
crown, and the 1989 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
men's golf championship. Guilford head coach Jack Jensen, who completed
his 29th season Thursday, received his second Eaton Golf Pride NCAA Division III
Coach of the Year Award from the Collegiate Golf Coaches Association Thursday
night. The 1989 NAIA National Golf Coach of the Year, Jensen has coached
all three of Guilford's national golf titlists, plus Guilford's 1973 NAIA
national champion men's basketball team.
"They all feel the same, they all feel great," Jensen said. "The others (golf titles) were a lot closer, so it was probably more emotional when we won those. Today I held things in the middle of the road pretty well on emotions."
Guilford had the low score in two of the tournament's four rounds and finished with a 22-over-par 1,174, the fourth-lowest 72-hole score in school history. Fueled by three sub-par scores, the Quakers shot a season-low 285 (-3) in Tuesday's second round, which opened a 10-shot lead over the 23-team field. Guilford doubled its advantage with a 297, Wednesday's third-lowest round. Thursday's two-over 290 marked the tournament's second-lowest score.
"I always tell these guys, usually over four days, 72 holes - so these five guys are playing 360 holes of golf - the best team's going to win," Jensen said. "In 2002 we had the best team, and in 2005 we had the best team."
Patterson shot a three-under 69 in each of the first two rounds, but a third-round 80 dropped him behind LeGrange's Michael Lemmo and Clark into third place. Patterson shot an even-par 72 Thursday and Clark finished with a two-over 74, which forced a playoff between the two teammates who both finished at 290.
"Coach asked me if I wanted to play (a playoff)," Patterson (left) said. "I said
'No, I don't want to play a playoff. It doesn't matter to me win or lose, we're
still bringing back the trophy.' "
NCAA officials told Jensen the teammates had to play off to determine a single medalist.
"We didn't really (want) to do it, we had the title already," Clark (right) said. "Then they told us we have to do it. We were like, 'Well, all right, we'll go do it real quick.' It just happened that he made a bogey and I made a par."
"(Clark) has been second three times in a row and I kept telling him you'd trade this last one for all three of those combined," Jensen said. "I don't think he bought it, but it worked out."
"I didn't get too ahead of myself today," Clark said. "That was the big thing that happened at the other tournaments."
Stovall shot Guilford's lowest round of the day Thursday with a one-under 71 that vaulted him from 11th to fifth in the individual standings. After seven straight rounds of 80 or higher, sophomore Joseph Poplin provided Guilford's fourth score Thursday with a one-over 73. He made a team-high four birdies in his final round and jumped from 103rd place into 81st with a four-day 320. Guilford junior Jeff Osberg fired an 80 Thursday and finished in a tie for 32nd at 307.
Patterson, who also placed second at the 2002 national tournament, is Guilford's first four-time All-American in any sport and played on two national championship teams. He earned Second Team All-America honors by placing 10th in the 2001 tournament where Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the title by one stroke over Guilford. Patterson was an honorable mention All-American in 2003 and sat out the 2003-04 campaign because he wanted to play his final season while a senior academically.
"There's no comparison, the first one is always the most special," Patterson said. "I feel good right now. I went out there and played a hard day of golf and I can't really comprehend it. It's nice to win two, and we finished second in another where we lost by a shot. I don't know what to compare it to."
Photos courtesy of Golfstat.com
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (after 4 of 4 rounds)
|
|
School |
Strokes |
Par |
|
1 |
Guilford |
302-285-297-290-1174 |
+22 |
|
2 |
Redlands |
310-301-296-292-1199 |
+47 |
|
3 |
Greensboro |
305-296-307-301-1205 |
+53 |
|
4 |
Methodist |
306-311-295-295-1207 |
+55 |
|
5 |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
300-313-298-300-1211 |
+59 |
|
6 |
St. John's (MN) |
305-296-307-305-1213 |
+61 |
|
7 |
Oglethorpe |
312-296-311-304-1223 |
+71 |
|
8 |
Emory |
301-307-303-313-1224 |
+72 |
|
9 |
Huntingdon |
306-305-312-304-1227 |
+75 |
|
10 |
Wisconsin-Eau Claire |
311-309-306-306-1232 |
+80 |
|
11 |
Otterbein |
318-299-312-307-1236 |
+84 |
|
12 |
Texas Lutheran |
319-306-317-308-1250 |
+98 |
|
13 |
Franklin |
323-304-308-318-1253 |
+101 |
|
14 |
DePauw |
314-308-321-313-1256 |
+104 |
|
15 |
California Lutheran |
323-312-313-309-1257 |
+105 |
|
T16 |
Allegheny |
325-320-309-304-1258 |
+106 |
|
T16 |
Westminster (PA) |
317-324-304-313-1258 |
+106 |
|
18 |
Gustavus Adolphus |
329-317-306-307-1259 |
+107 |
|
19 |
Central (IA) |
326-318-313-304-1262 |
+110 |
|
20 |
Skidmore |
313-310-329-315-1267 |
+115 |
|
21 |
New York |
312-319-327-310-1268 |
+116 |
|
22 |
Williams |
320-309-328-320-1286 |
+125 |
|
23 |
Rochester |
332-313-324-317-1286 |
+134 |
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS (out of 120)
|
T1 |
Colin Clark |
Guilford |
75-70-71-74-290 |
+2* |
|
T1 |
Dave Patterson |
Guilford |
69-69-80-72-290 |
+2 |
|
3 |
Michael Lemmo |
LaGrange |
69-73-73-77-292 |
+4 |
|
4 |
Pete Weber |
Loras |
68-76-76-73-293 |
+5 |
|
5 |
Brant Stovall |
Guilford |
78-70-75-71-294 |
+6 |
|
T6 |
Trent Davis |
Neb. Wes. |
71-77-72-75-295 |
+7 |
|
T6 |
Ryan Sharpe |
Greensboro |
75-71-74-75-295 |
+7 |
Note: The top six individuals (including ties) earn PING First Team All-America honors.
GUILFORD STUDENT-ATHLETES
|
T1 |
Colin Clark |
75-70-71-74-290 |
+2* |
|
T1 |
Dave Patterson |
69-69-80-72-290 |
+2 |
|
5 |
Brant Stovall |
78-70-75-71-294 |
+6 |
|
T22 |
Jeff Osberg |
80-76-71-80-307 |
+19 |
|
T81 |
Joseph Poplin |
85-80-82-73-320 |
+32 |
* - won on a one-hole playoff