Men's Golf Releases (2005-06) - O'Briant Open Day One - Guilford College

 

      Greensboro, NC (9/26/05) -- Two-time defending tournament champion Methodist shot 288 Monday and leads after the first of two rounds at the 18th annual Tom O'Briant Memorial Golf Tournament at the Cardinal Golf and Country Club. Led by 2003 O'Briant medalist Adam Horton and Cory Schneider's one-over-par 71, the Monarchs hold a two-shot lead over second-place Huntingdon (290). Wesley (291) sits three strokes off the pace in third place, followed by Emory (296) and Oglethorpe (297). Tourney host Guilford, the defending NCAA Division III national champion, holds eighth place in the 18-team field after shooting 300.


      LaGrange's Richard Poole and Rhodes' Matt Durand both shot one-under-par 69 to lead the 89-individual field. Durand's eagle on the par-5 sixth hole sparked him to a three-under 32 on the front nine holes. Poole's steady round in the overcast and mild conditions yielded three birdies.

 

      Wesley's Ray Cook registered five birdies Monday, the most of any student-athlete. His birdie on the 18th hole moved him into a share of third place on the individual leaderboard with Methodist's Horton and Schneider. Nick Bova and John Duckworth both shot 73 for the Monarchs and share 13th place with 10 others. The Monarchs are bidding for their tournament-record third straight O'Briant team title.

 

      This year's event features nine of NCAA Division III's top-25 teams, according to the September 22 Bridgestone/Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) poll, including six of the top-10 squads. Five of Division III's last seven national champions are also in the field. In addition to top-ranked Guilford, second-ranked Methodist, fifth-ranked Greensboro and number-eight Emory make this one of Division III's top fall tournaments. Sixth-ranked Oglethorpe has finished second in three of the last four O'Briant Memorials. Huntingdon is the nation's ninth-ranked team in the poll.

 

      The teams are competing on the par-70, 6,671-yard Pete Dye-designed layout in northwest Greensboro. Guilford hosted the same tournament from 1978-87 when it was called the Guilford College Invitational.