Host Michigan State went wire-to-wire to capture the team crown in the Colleton River Collegiate, which wrapped up Monday at a Colleton River Club layout in Bluffton, S.C. that seemed to play pretty tough.
The Colleton River has always been a good event as the college teams start to venture a little farther north as spring approaches. Sounds like conditions were tough, particularly during Sunday’s double round, with the early March winds blowing on the South Carolina coast
Michigan State, a Big Ten representative, was the only team to finish under par as the Spartans opened with a 1-over-par 289 over the 7,403-yard, par-72 Colleton River layout and added a solid 3-under 285 in the afternoon of the Sunday double round before closing with another 1-over 289 for a 1-under 863 total that was 11 shots clear of the field.
Michigan State, No. 59 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, also had the individual winner as Lorenzo Pinili, a sophomore from Rochester Hills, Mich., recorded a 5-under 211 to finish two shots ahead of East Tennessee State’s Kristian Bressum, a senior from Denmark. It was Pinili’s first individual victory at the college level.
After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Pinili posted a 4-under 68 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round and trailed Indiana’s Cole Starnes, a sophomore from Fishers, Ind., by three shots going into the final round. Pinili closed with a 1-under 71 to finish at 5-under.
It was Michigan State’s first team victory since the Spartans captured the title in the Island Resort Collegiate in September of 2021. It was the 15th tournament win for Michigan State head coach Casey Lubahn, giving him the record for most tournament titles by a coach in program history.
Michigan State did earn a regional bid last spring, but failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as an 11 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional.
It was a tough couple of days for Penn State, a Big Ten rival of Michigan State, as the Nittany Lions finished in 15th place in the 16-team field, their 48-over 912 total beating only one of their six conference foes in the field.
Penn State really struggled in the opening round with a 311 in the tough conditions. The Nittany Lions bounced back with a 9-over 297 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before struggling to a final-round 304.
Kansas State, out of the Big 12, only trailed Michigan State by three shots going into the final round as the Wildcats added a sparkling 6-under 282, the low team round of the tournament, in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to their opening round of 7-over 295. Kansas State, No. 54 in the Scoreboard rankings, closed with a 9-over 297 to finish 11 shots behind Michigan State at 10-over 874.
Perennial Atlantic Coast Conference power Wake Forest, at No. 41 in the Scoreboard rankings the highest-ranked team in the field, and Southern Conference power Chattanooga, were three shots behind Kansas State in a tie for third place, each landing on 13-over 877.
The Demon Deacons matched par in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a 288 after opening with an 11-over 299 before closing with a 2-over 290.
Wake Forest defeated BYU in a playoff for fifth place to advance out of the Austin Regional as a five seed to last spring’s NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., but were unable to make into the match-play bracket.
The Moccasins, No. 79 in the Scoreboard rankings, added a 2-over 290 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to their opening round of 7-over 295 before closing with a 4-over 292.
Chattanooga failed to advance to last spring’s NCAA Championship as a seven seed in the Rancho Santa Fe Regional.
It was 12 more shots back to Memphis, an Atlantic Athletic Conference entry, in fifth place with a 25-over 889 total. The Tigers, No. 88 in the Scoreboard rankings, bounced back from an opening-round 302 with a 5-over 293 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a 294.
Iowa, another Big Ten entry, finished a shot behind Memphis in sixth place with a 26-over 890 total. The Hawkeyes, No. 83 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a 7-over 295 and added a 299 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with an 8-over 296.
Backing up Pinili for Michigan State was Drew Miller, a sophomore home boy from East Lansing, Mich. who finished among a trio tied for third place along with Indiana’s Starnes and Wake Forest’s Scotty Kennon, a senior from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., each landing on 2-under 214.
After opening with a 1-over 73, Miller added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.
Caleb Bond, a junior from Williamston, Mich., gave the Spartans a third finisher among the top eight as he ended up in a group of five players tied for eighth place at 2-over 218.
Bond was the low Spartan in the opening round as he fueled Michigan State’s fast start with a 3-under 69. He added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a 75.
Lucas Acevedo, a sophomore from Daniel Island, S.C., was also solid for Michigan State as he finished among a trio tied for 14th place with a 4-over 220 total. Acevedo matched par in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 and contributed a 1-over 73 as the Spartans held onto their lead in the final round.
Rounding out the Michigan State lineup was Julian Menser, a freshman from South Lyon, Mich. who recorded a pair of 5-over 77s in Sunday’s double round and closed with a 79 to finish in the group tied for 63rd place with a 233 total.
East Tennessee State’s Bressum, like Pinili, trailed Starnes by three shots going into the final round after Bressum added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to his opening round of 3-under 69. A final round of 1-over 73 gave Bressum a runnerup finish with a 3-under 213 total that left him two shots behind Pinili.
Indiana’s Starnes tamed the challenging conditions during Sunday’s double round as he added a 4-under 68 to his opening round of 3-under 69 to open up a three-shot advantage on the field. Starnes stumbled in the final round with a 5-over 77 that left him in a tie for third place with Michigan State’s Miller and Wake Forest’s Kennon at 2-under.
After opening with a 2-over 74, Kennon unleashed the best round of the tournament, a sizzling 6-under 66, in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round. Another 2-over 74 in the final round left Kennon in the tie for third place with Miller and Starnes.
Chattanooga’s Ethan Whitaker, a freshman from Knoxville, Tenn., and Kansas State’s Cooper Schultz, a senior from Andover, Kan., finished in a tie for sixth place, each ending up three shots behind the trio tied for third at 1-over 217.
Whitaker registered a pair of 1-over 73s in Sunday’s double round before closing with a 1-under 71. After opening with a 3-over 75, Schultz climbed up the leaderboard on the strength of a 4-under 68 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a 2-over 74.
Schultz’s Kansas State teammate, Kobe Valociek, a senior from Peoria, Ariz., joined Michigan State’s Bond and three others in the quintet tied for eighth place, a shot behind Whitaker and Schultz at 2-over 218. After opening with a 2-over 74, Valociek contributed a 3-under 69 to the Wildcats’ surge in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with a 3-over 75.
Rounding out the fivesome tied at 2-over were Cincinnati’s William McDonald, a redshirt senior from Oklahoma City, Okla., Memphis’ Yixiang, a sophomore from China, and Missouri’s Virgilio Paz, a junior from Venezuela.
McDonald bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 77 by matching par in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a 72 and then closing with a solid 3-under 69.
Wang added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to his opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 3-over 75. Paz opened with a solid 2-under 70 and matched par in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before finishing up with a 4-over 76.
Strong showing for Chattanooga senior Garrett Engle, who played scholastically at Central Dauphin, but never participated in the PIAA postseason. Engle finished in the group tied for 17th place with a 5-over 221 total.
Engle, who won two matches to reach the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., struggled in the opening round at Colleton River with an 80, but bounced right back in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round with a sparkling 4-under 68 before closing with a 1-over 73.
Leading the way for Penn State was Alex Creamean, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill. who finished among the group tied for 31st place with an 8-over 224 total. After struggling with a 79 in the opening round, Creamean matched par in the afternoon of the Sunday double round with a 72 before closing with a 1-over 73.
Jake Griffin, a senior from Kensington, Md., backed up Creamean for the Nittany Lions as he finished in the group tied for 42nd place with a 226 total. Griffin added a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to his opening-round 73 before closing with a 6-over 78.
Andres Barraza, a junior from Parkland, Fla., finished among the group tied for 52nd place with a 230 total for Penn State as he added a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round to his opening-round 77 before closing with a 6-over 78.
Will Preston, a freshman from Grand Rapids, Mich., finished among the trio tied for 60th place with a 232 total for the Nittany Lions as the bounced back from an opening-round 82 with a pair of 3-over 75s in the final two rounds.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was senior Morgan Lofland, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career at Conestoga who struggled mightily at Colleton River, finishing in 80th place with a 242 total. After opening with a disastrous 90, Lofland added a 7-over 79 in the afternoon of Sunday’s double round before closing with an 80.
No comments:
Post a Comment