Chase helps Temple finish fourth in ECU Intercollegiate at Brook Valley

 

   Getting a solid performance from Graham Chase, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., Temple finished in fourth place in the ECU Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at a Brook Valley Country Club layout in Greenville, N.C. that played very tough.

   Chase matched par in all three rounds over the 6,803-yard, par-72 Brook Valley layout with three straight 72s for an even-par 216 total that was good enough to get him a share of third place in the individual standings.

   Host East Carolina, one of Temple’s American Athletic Conference rivals, captured the individual title with a 15-over 879 total. The Pirates went wire to wire, opening with a 2-under 286 and adding a 10-over 298 in the afternoon of Monday’s opening double round before closing with a 7-over 295.

   UCF, which moved from the AAC to the Big 12 this season, closed with a solid 1-under 287, but was unable to catch East Carolina as the Knights finished in second place, two shots behind the Pirates with a 17-over 881 total. UCF opened with an 11-over 299 before adding a 7-over 295 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   UCF was led by the individual champion, Hans Risvaer, a freshman from Miami, Fla who bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 75 with back-to-back 3-under 69s for a 3-under 213 total.

   Barton College, a Division II power, was another four shots behind UCF in third place with a 21-over 885 total. The Bulldogs opened with a 3-over 291 and struggled to a 301 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round and was tied for second place with Temple, eight shots behind East Carolina, going into the final round. The Bulldogs then closed with a 5-over 293.

   Temple opened with a 9-over 297 and added a 7-over 295 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round that left the Owls in tie with Barton College for second place. Temple just couldn’t get it going in the final round, struggling to a 304, although the Owls still held fourth place with a 32-over 896 total that left them 11 shots behind Barton College.

   Dartmouth, out of the Ivy League, finished two shots behind Temple in fifth place with a 34-over 898 total. The Big Green opened with an 11-over 299 and added a 9-over 297 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 302.

   IUPUI (Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis), a Horizon League entry, was another five shots behind Dartmouth in sixth place in the 15-team field with a 39-over 903 total. The Jaguars sandwiched an 11-over 299 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a pair of 302s.

   The best performance by an East Carolina golfer came from a player who didn’t count toward the Pirates’ team effort as Drew O’Neal, a freshman from Wilson, N.C. competing as an individual, nearly stole the individual crown.

   Making a strong statement for a spot in the East Carolina lineup, O’Neal led UCF’s Resvaer, the eventual winner, by two shots going into the final round after O’Neal opened with a 2-under 70 and then matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 72.

   O’Neal matched par again in Tuesday’s final round to finish a shot behind Resvaer in second place with a 2-under 214 total. Resvaer and O’Neal were the only two players to finish under par for three rounds over the challenging Brook Valley layout.

   East Carolina’s team effort was led by Ethan Hall, a graduate student from Morehead City, N.C., and Lucas Augustsson, a sophomore from Sweden, both of whom landed in a group of five players tied for eighth place at 3-over 219.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Hall struggled to a 5-over 77 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Augustsson opened with a 2-under 70, but he, too, struggled in the second round with a 77 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Carter Busse, a junior from Davidson, N.C., backed up Hall and Augustsson for East Carolina as he finished in a tie for 13^th place with a 4-over 220 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Busse added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Philip Linberg Bondestad, a sophomore from Norway, gave East Carolina a fourth finisher in the top 16 as he was part of the group tied for 16^th place with a 7-over 223 total. Linberg Bondestad matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before struggling a little in the final round with a 78.

   Rounding out the East Carolina lineup was Tyler DeChellis, a junior from Clayton, N.C. who finished among a trio of players tied for 58^th place with a 235 total as he sandwiched a counting 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a pair of 80s.

   Joining Temple’s Chase in the tie for third place at even-par was Barton College’s Harrison Wierse, a senior from Wilmington, N.C. who added a 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round after opening with a 2-over 74 before surging up the leaderboard in the final round with a sparkling 5-under 67, the low individual round of the tournament.

   The last of Chase’s three even-par rounds in Tuesday’s final round was fairly adventurous as he offset five bogeys with five birdies.

   UCF’s Egor Eroshenko, a sophomore from Russia, finished a shot behind Chase and Wierse in fifth place with a 1-over 217 total as he closed with a solid 3-under 69. Eroshenko had opened with a 75 before adding a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   A couple of freshmen, Oakland’s Robert Burns of Flushing, Mich. and Dartmouth’s Tyler Brand of Richmond, Va., finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing a shot behind Eroshenko with a 2-over 218 total.

   Burns finished strong with a 4-under 68 after he had opened with a 76 before adding a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round. Brand matched par with a pair of 72s in both loops around Brook Valley in Monday’s double round before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   Joining East Carolina’s Hill and Augustsson in the quintet tied for eighth place at 3-over were Brand’s Dartmouth teammate, Alex Gu, a senior from Darien, Conn., Queens University of Charlotte’s Clayson Good, a senior from Durham, N.C., and Barton College’s Ryan Jahr, a sophomore from Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

   Gu matched par in the opening round with a 72, but struggled to a 6-over 78 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before finishing with a flourish, firing a 4-under 68 in the final round. Good opened with a solid 1-under 71 and struggled a little in a 4-over 76 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Jahr was only a shot behind East Carolina’s O’Neal in the individual standings going into the final round after he added a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to his sparkling opening round of 4-under 68. He closed with a 4-over 76 to fall back into the tie for eighth place.

   Backing up Chase for Temple was Ethan Whitney, a junior from Westminster, Mass. who finished in the group tied for 16^th place with a 7-over 223 total. After opening with a 3-over 75, Whitney recorded the best round for an Owl in the tournament, a 3-under 69, in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before struggling to a final-round 79.

   Michael Walsh, a junior from Shelburne, Vt., finished alone in 30^th place at 227 for Temple as he sandwiched a 79 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a pair of 2-over 74s.

   Junior Joey Morganti, a St., Joseph’s Prep product and a Havertown resident, finished in the group tied for 49^th place with a 233 total as he added a 78 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to his opening round of 4-over 76 before closing with a 79.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was freshman Matt Vital, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Liberty who finished in the group tied for 61^st place with a 236 total. Vital added a 4-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 79 before closing with an 81.

   Jake Naese, a junior from Bradenton, Fla. who competed as an individual, made his case for a spot in the Temple lineup as he finished in the group tied for 41^st place with a 232 total. Naese added a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to his opening-round 78 before finishing up with a 79.

   Senior Andrew Curran, who claimed the title in the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship as a senior at Malvern Prep in 2018, also competed as an individual for Temple. After opening with a 4-over 76, Curran added a 78 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before struggling to a final-round 85 that left him in the group tied for 69^th place with a 239 total.