Madsen claims individual title, leads Georgetown to runnerup finish in ECU Intercollegiate

   Led by Sam Madsen’s individual victory, Georgetown finished a shot behind host East Carolina in the ECU Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville, N.C.

   Madsen, a senior from Madison, Wis., led a trio of Georgetown seniors as the Hoyas had the only sub-par team round of the tournament, a 1-under 287 over the 6,755-yard, par-72 Brook Valley layout in Monday’s afternoon round, on their way to a 22-over 886 total.

   The host Pirates trailed Georgetown by three entering Tuesday’s final round and made up four shots on the Hoyas with a 10-over 298 total that gave them a 21-over 885. Georgetown opened with a 9-over 297, but after that solid middle round, the Hoyas struggled with a final-round 302.

   Still, it was a very encouraging outing for Georgetown, which is No. 159 in the latest Golfstat rankings. The Hoyas finished a shot behind No. 75 East Carolina and a shot ahead of Campbell, at No. 58 the highest-ranked team in the field. The Fighting Camels struggled in the opening round with a 307, but came on strong with a 1-over 289 in Monday afternoon’s round and a 3-over 291 in Tuesday’s final round to finish third at 23-over 887.

   It was another 10 shots back to Charleston Southern in fourth at 33-over 897 after a final-round 301 and Elon was a shot behind Charleston Southern, taking fifth in the nine-team field at 34-over 898 after finishing up with a 298.

   Madsen opened with a 2-under 70 and added a pair of 2-over 74s for a 2-over 218 total. That left him tied for the top spot in the individual standings with East Carolina’s Patrick Stephenson, a sophomore from Four Oaks, N.C., and Campbell’s Ray Kraivixian, a junior from Thailand. Madsen claimed the title on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.

   Stephenson sandwiched a 2-over 74 in the middle round with a pair of even-par 72s. Kraivixian got into contention with a 2-under 70 Monday afternoon before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Stephenson was one of three Pirates to finish among the top six as teammates Jackson Spires, a redshirt senior from Fayetteville, N.C, and Tim Conover, a senior from Holly Springs, N.C., both landed in a group of four players tied for sixth at 5-over 221.

   Spires sandwiched a 1-over 73 in the second round with a pair of 2-over 74s while Conover bounced back from an opening-round 76 with rounds of 72 and 73.

   Blake Taylor, a sophomore from Atkinson, N.C., finished tied for 22^nd at 226. He struggled in the final round with an 80 after going 73-73 in Monday’s double-round.

   Logan Shuping, a sophomore from Salisbury, N.C., finished tied for 39^th at 232. He finished up with a 79, but with Taylor struggling that turned out to be a very important 79. The Pirates only won by a shot, so I think you can do the math.

   As the host often does, the Pirates had a full complement of players competing as individuals and Tim Bunten, a freshman from Concord, N.C., had a solid showing, finishing tied for 18^th at 225, although he, like Taylor, struggled in the final round with an 80. Bunten got off to an impressive start with a 2-under 70 in Monday morning’s round.

   Elon’s Jake Leavitt, a senior from Woodstock, Md., and Campbell’s Pontus Nyholm, a freshman from Sweden, shared fourth place in the individual standings, two shots out of the playoff for the title at 4-over 220. Leavitt sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the middle round with a pair of even-par 72s while Nyholm saved his best for last, a closing 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Joining the East Carolina pair of Spires and Conover in the group tied for sixth at 5-over 221 were Charleston Southern’s Jacques Wilson, a senior from Minnetonka, Minn., and Radford’s Myles Creighton, a senior from Canada.

    Wilson had grabbed a two-shot over Madsen in the individual chase with a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double-round, but faltered a little in the final round with a 7-over 79. Creighton moved up the leaderboard in the final round with a 1-under 71.

   Madsen’s classmates at Georgetown, Cole Berman, The Haverford School product and 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion, and Jack Musgrove of Chesterton, Ind., also had strong showings at Brook Valley.

   Berman opened with a 1-over 73 and added a pair of 3-over 75s to finish tied for 11^th at 7-over 223. Musgrave matched the low individual round of the tournament with a 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s round and finished tied for 24^th at 8-over 224.

   The only other 69 in the tournament came from another Georgetown player as Eduardo Blochtein, a sophomore form Delray Beach, Fla., matched Musgrave’s outstanding effort with a second-round 69 of his own on his way to finishing tied for 22^nd at 226. Musgrave and Blochtein were both 10 shots worse in the final round with 79s, but those Monday afternoon rounds had to be encouraging to them and to their Georgetown teammates.

   Patrick DiPasquale, a sophomore from Rochester, N.Y., rounded out the Georgetown lineup by finishing tied for 32^nd at 230, although his final round of 2-over 74 helped make up for the struggles of Musgrave and Blochtein.

   The Hoyas kicked off the rust of the midseason break with a sparkling final round of 12-under 276 that enabled them to finish fifth at the FAU Spring Championship in Boca Raton, Fla. and they kept the momentum going this week in Greenville.

   As I mentioned in my post on the FAU Spring Championship, Madsen, Berman and Musgrave were all there two years ago when the Big East champion Hoyas teed it up in the NCAA Franklin Regional. I’m sure they would love to finish up their careers by representing Georgetown at another NCAA regional.