Villanova coach Jim Wilkes took three freshmen into battle
in last week’s Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate at Fort Lauderdale Country
Club’s North Course in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The result was somewhat predictable as the Wildcats finished
the last of 12 against a tough field, led by South Florida, No. 22 in the
latest Golfstat rankings, which
rolled to a 23-shot victory.
But Wilkes got some experience for Danny Dougherty, a Tower Hill
product, Matt Davis, one of the Inter-Ac League’s top players when he was at Malvern
Prep, and Jack O’Hara of Loudonville, N.Y. and those three youngsters got a
couple of days in Fort Lauderdale at a point when winter was making one last
grim stand back home in the Philadelphia area.
South Florida was the best team in the field by quite a bit
and the Bulls really put on a show. They won The American Championship for the
fourth straight time last spring, but that team had four seniors. The rest of
the American Athletic Conference may have thought maybe South Florida would be
a little down this season. Doesn’t look like it.
Albin Bergstrom, a freshman from Sweden, set a program
record for 36 holes went he fired rounds of 5-under-par 67 and 6-under 66 over
the 6,861-yard, par-72 North Course layout in the March 4 double-round to stand
at 11-under 133. Bergstrom completed a program-record 54 holes with a 4-under
68 to capture the individual title by nine shots with a 15-under 201 total.
Bergstrom led South Florida to scorching start with a
12-under 276 in the opening round followed by an 8-under 280 in the second
round. The Bulls then closed it out with a 4-under 284 in the final round March
5 for a 24-under 840 total.
Florida Gulf Coast sandwiched an outstanding second round of
9-under 279 with a pair of 4-over 292s to claim runnerup honors at 1-under 863.
Connecticut and Virginia Commonwealth were another two shots behind Florida
Gulf Coast at 1-over 865 in a tie for third. The Huskies closed with a 3-over 291
while VCU carded its second straight 2-over 290 in the final round.
UConn’s Atlantic Coast Conference rival Boston College
finished alone in fifth place at 6-over 870. The Eagles fired a 5-under 283 in
the second round before finishing up with a 5-over 293.
Loyola of Maryland and Davidson shared sixth place, each
landing on 11-over 875. Loyola started strong with a 6-under 282, but struggled
home in the final round with a 12-over 300. Davidson finished up with a solid
3-over 291.
Villanova’s best round was a 302 in the afternoon of the
opening-day double-round after the Wildcats had posted a 312 in the morning.
They finished up with a 313 for a 63-over 927 total.
Backing up Bergstrom for South Florida was Luke Gifford, a
freshman from Boca Raton, Fla. who wasn’t bad himself in the opening-day
double-round, going 4-under 68 and 2-under 70. He finished up with a 1-over 73
to finish alone in third at 5-under 211.
Kyle Flexsenhar, a junior from Lake Mary, Fla., finished
among the group tied for 13th at 1-over 217 after matching par in
the final round with a 72. Anthony Muttillo, another freshman from Boca Raton,
finished among the group tied for 20th at 2-over 218. He struggled
in the final round with a 4-over 76, but contributed a pair of 1-under 71s in the
opening-day double-round.
Ryoto Furuya, a junior from Alpharetta, Ga., finished among
the group tied for 34th at 7-over 223, although his 1-under 71 in
the final round was a counter. That’s three freshmen and two juniors shooting
24-under, not good news for the rest of the AAC.
VCU’s Ian Peng, a freshman from Taiwan, was the winner among
the players in the field not playing completely out of their mind, as in South
Florida’s Bergstrom. Peng went 3-under 69 and 1-under 71 in the opening-day
double-round before finishing up with a 2-under 70 to claim runnerup honors at
6-under 210.
Three players – Boston College’s Matt Naumec, a senior from
Wilbraham, Mass., Florida Atlantic’s Sully Zagerman, a junior from Windermere,
Fla., and Florida Gulf Coast’s Cole Castro, a sophomore from Homestead, Fla. –
shared fourth place, a shot behind South Florida’s Gifford at 4-under 212.
Castro matched Bergstrom’s 6-under 66 in the second round
before closing with a 1-under 71. Naumec finished strong with a 3-under 69 and
Zagerman matched par in the final round with a 72.
Castro’s Florida Gulf Coast teammate, Andrew Potter, a
senior from Naples, Fla., finished alone in seventh place at 3-under 213 after
matching par in the final round with a 72.
Leading the way for Villanova was Mark Benevento, a redshirt
junior from Ocean City, N.J. who finished alone in 33rd place at
6-over 222. Benevento got it going on the afternoon of the first day, carding a
sparkling 4-under 68 after opening with a 79. He closed with a 3-over 75.
Dougherty finished alone in 55th at 232 after
adding a pair of 77s to an opening-round 78. Davis ended up among the group
tied for 63rd at 238 after finishing up with a 79.
Reb Banas, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., finished alone
in 67th at 239 after closing with an 82. He had rounds of 78 and 79
in the opening-day double-round. O’Hara rounded out the Villanova lineup as he
finished alone in 68th place at 241. He struggled in the final round
with an 85 after rounds of 77 and 79 in the opening-day double-round.
A familiar name popped up at the top of the Loyola Maryland
lineup as sophomore Evan Brown, one of the Ches-Mont League’s top players
during his scholastic career at Kennett, finished among the group tied for 13th
in the individual standings at 1-over 217.
Brown struggled in the opening round with a 76, but bounced
back with a 2-under 70 and a 1-under 71. He was joined in the group at 217 by
teammate Erick Alonso, a senior from Haworth, N.J. Alonso opened with a
sparkling 5-under 67 before backing off with a pair of 3-over 75s.
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