Nicholas leads Drexel to runnerup finish behind Longwood in Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate

 

   Drue Nicholas, a graduate student from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., continues to play solid golf as his outstanding career at Drexel winds down.

   Nicholas finished alone in fourth place with a 4-under-par 209 total and helped the Dragons end up in second place in the team standings in the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.

   Longwood, a Big South Conference representative, emerged from a Monday double round that featured some rain showers with a nine-shot lead and the Lancers never let go of their advantage as they closed with a 5-over 289 over the 6,167-yard, par-71 Golden Horseshoe layout to finish seven shots ahead of Drexel with a 4-over 859 total.

   Longwood was led by Justin LaRue, a senior from South Chesterfield, Va., who earned a share of medalist honors with Carsten Judge, a junior from Columbus, Ohio who was competing as an individual for Georgetown, as each landed on 8-under 205.

   It was the second straight individual title for LaRue at the Golden Horseshoe and the fourth time during the wraparound 2024-2025 season that LaRue has won an individual crown outright or shared the top spot.

   LaRue had opened with back-to-back 3-under 68s in Monday’s double round that gave him a share of the individual lead with Judge and Navy’s Chip Deegan.

   A final round of 2-under 69 when the wind kicked up in Williamsburg and sent scores higher enabled LaRue to finish tied at the top of the leaderboard with Judge.

   With LaRue leading the way, Longwood opened with a 4-under 280 and added a 3-over 287 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   Drexel, behind Nicholas, opened with a 6-over 290 and added a 5-over 289 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round that left the Dragons 11 shots behind Longwood going into the final round. Drexel, a Coastal Athletic Association representative, matched par in the difficult conditions of the final round with a 284, easily the best team round of the day, to finish seven shots behind Longwood in second place with an 11-over 863 total.

   Nicholas, who was coming off his fourth individual victory at Drexel in The Peoples Golf Championship at the Sea Palms Resort on Sea Island, Ga., was typically steady as he carded back-to-back 1-under 71s in Monday’s double round and closed with a sparkling 4-under 67 to end up alone in fourth place, two shots behind Navy’s Deegan.

   Georgetown’s Judge had added a sizzling 6-under 65 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to his opening-round 71 to join LaRue at the top of the leaderboard going into the final round. He closed with a 2-under 69 to get a share of medalist honors with LaRue at 8-under.

   Deegan opened with a 6-under 65 of his own and matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 71 as he also had a share of the lead going into the final round. He closed with another 71 to finish two shots behind the co-medalists in third place with a 6-under 207 total.

   Rhode Island, out of the Atlantic 10 and the highest ranked team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings in the field at No. 146, finished a shot behind Drexel in third place with a 12-over 864 total.

   The Rams added a 5-over 289 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to their opening round of 4-over 288 before closing with a 3-over 287.

   Host William & Mary, one of Drexel’s CAA rivals, was Longwood’s closest pursuer going into the final round as the Tribe opened with a 2-over 286 and added a 6-over 290 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   William & Mary closed with a 5-over 289 to finish a shot behind Rhode Island in fourth place with a 13-over 865 total.

   Villanova, a Big East representative, and Navy, out of the Patriot League, finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 17-over 869, four shots behind William & Mary.

   The Wildcats sandwiched a 9-over 293 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a pair of 4-over 288s.

   The Midshipmen, behind Deegan, added a 6-over 290 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to their opening round of 7-over 291 before closing with a 4-over 288.

   Saint Joseph’s, another Atlantic 10 entry, finished in 12^th place in the 13-team field with a 50-over 902 total. The Hawks, in just their second start of the spring, struggled in the opening round with a 305 and added a 297 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 300.

   Backing up LaRue for Longwood was Nick Fleming, a graduate student from Cabins, W.Va. who finished among a trio of players tied for 11^th place with a 2-over 215 total. Fleming carded back-to-back even-par 71s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-over 73.

   David LaFreniere, a sophomore from Canada, and freshman Hunter Swidzinski, the 2023 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Butler, gave the Lancers four players in the top 20 in the individual standings as they finished among the group tied for 20^th place at 5-over 218.

   LaFreniere opened with a solid 1-under 70 and added a 4-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-over 73. Swidzinski, who has been a solid addition to the Longwood lineup in his freshman season, matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 2-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before finishing up with a 3-over 74.

   Rounding out the Longwood lineup was senior Scott Jordan, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Upper St. Clair who finished in the group tied for 47^th place with a 226 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Jordan added a 4-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before struggling in the final round with an 80.

   Leading the way for Rhode Island was Tyler Bruneau, a freshman from West Palm Beach, Fla. who finished in a tie for fifth place in the individual chase with Georgetown’s Barnes Blake, a sophomore from Westfield, N.J., as they both ended up two shots behind Drexel’s Nicholas at 2-under 211.

   Bruneau recorded back-to-back 1-under 70s in Monday’s double round before matching par with a 71 in the final round. After opening with a 2-over 73, Barnes put together a solid 3-under 68 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 1-under 70.

   Virginia, an Atlantic Coast Conference power that is No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings, sent a couple of players to Williamsburg to tee it up in the Golden Horseshoe as individuals.

   One of them, Maxi Puregger, a freshman from Spain, finished alone in seventh place with an even-par 213 total that left him two shots behind Bruneau and Barnes. After opening with a 1-under 70, Puregger matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 71 before closing with a 1-over 72.

   Villanova’s top player, Ryan “Coop” Pamer, a junior from Hudson, Ohio, finished among a trio of players tied for eighth place that included a teammate of Puregger’s, Sam O’Hara, a sophomore from Rye, N.Y., and Rhode Island’s Luke Stennent, a freshman from Portland, Conn., each landing on 1-over 214, a shot behind Puregger.

   After opening with a 3-over 74, Pamer matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 71 before finishing up strong with a 2-under 69 in the final round. Pamer captured the individual title in the Big 5 Championship to cap the fall campaign for the Wildcats at Aronimink Golf Club.

   O’Hara bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 76 with a pair of 1-under 70s in the final two rounds.

   Stennett gave Rhody a second finisher inside the top eight as he registered a pair of 2-over 73s in Monday’s double round before finishing strong with a 3-under 68 in the final round.

   Backing up Nicholas for Drexel was Griffin Mitchell, a graduate student from New Albany, Ohio who finished among the group tied for 15^th place at 4-over 217. Mitchell opened with a 1-over 72 and added a 3-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Caleb Taylor, a junior from Woodbine, Md., finished alone in 30^th place at 7-over 220 for the Dragons as he bounced back from an opening-round 77 with a 2-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before contributing a 1-under 70 to Drexel’s strong final round.

   Junior Kevin Lydon, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Central Bucks West in 2021, finished among a trio of players tied for 31^st place at 8-over 221 as he matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 71 after opening with a 3-over 74 and closed with a 5-over 76.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was Brockton English, a junior from Shelby Township, Mich. who ended up in the group tied for 52^nd place at 227. English opened with a 2-over 73, but struggled after that with a 5-over 76 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round and a final-round 78.

   Drexel head coach Ben Feld took sophomore John Keba, a scholastic standout at Allentown Central Catholic, to Williamsburg to compete as an individual and Keba made the most of the opportunity by finishing among the group tied for 27^th place at 6-over 219. After opening with a 5-over 76, Keba added a 1-over 72 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Backing up Pamer for Villanova were Gus Vickers, a graduate student from Naples, Fla. and Jackson Lehner, a senior from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., as they finished among the group tied for 20^th place at 5-over 218.

   Vickers opened with a 2-over 73 and added a 3-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 71. Lehner got off to a solid start with a 1-under 70 and added a 2-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 4-over 75.

   Vibhav Alokam, a freshman from Ypsilanti, Mich., finished in a tie for 40^th place for the Wildcats with a 223 total. Alokam sandwiched a 4-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a pair of 3-over 74s.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was junior Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career at Emmaus. Zerfass matched par in the opening round with a 71, but struggled in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with an 81 before closing with a 3-over 74.

   Nathan Marion, a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, teed it up as an individual for Villanova and finished in the group tied for 68^th place with a 231 total. Marion opened with a 4-over 75 and added a 6-over 77 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 79.

   Leading the way for Saint Joseph’s was junior Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a scholastic standout at Wissahickon who finished among the group tied for 15^th place with a 4-over 217 total.

   Matt was the runnerup in the individual chase to LaRue a year ago, so the Golden Horseshoe layup seems to fit his game. He opened with a 1-over 72 and added a 3-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Matt was also the low Hawk in the opener of the spring portion of Saint Joseph’s 2024-2025 schedule earlier this month as he finished in a tie for 46^th place with a 7-over 223 total in the Donald Ross Collegiate at the Mid Pines Golf Club in Mid Pines, N.C. St. Joe’s finished in 16^th place in the 20-team field with a 911 total.

   Senior Tommy Larkin, who starred scholastically at Cardinal O’Hara, backed up Matt as Larkin finished among the group tied for 47^th place with a 226 total. After opening with a 79, Larkin bounced back with a 1-over 72 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 6-over 77.

   Sophomore Noah Moelter, who capped his scholastic career at Central Bucks South by finishing in a tie for sixth place in the 2022 PIAA Class AAA Championship, finished in the group tied for 52^nd place for Saint Joseph’s. Moelter bounced back from an opening-round 79 by matching par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 71 before closing with a 6-over 77.

   Freshman Aidan Farkas, a top-10 finisher in the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of his last two seasons at St. Joseph’s Prep, finished alone in 78^th place for the Hawks. After opening with a 5-over 76, Farkas, an Ardmore resident, posted back-to-back 80s in the final two rounds.

   Sophomore Kevin Lafond, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in 2022 as a senior at Catholic League powerhouse La Salle, rounded out the St. Joe’s lineup as he finished in a tie for 81^st place with a 240 total. After opening with a 78, Lafond struggled in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with an 85 before closing with a 6-over 77.

   Navy got a strong performance from junior Jack Tarzy, who played his scholastic golf at The Hun School of Princeton and frequently appeared on Philadelphia Junior Tour leaderboards as a junior golfer.

   Tarzy closed with a 1-under 70 to finish among the group tied for 20^th place with a 5-over 218 total. Tarzy had opened with a 4-over 75 before adding a 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   Lafayette sophomore Winston Kelenc-Blank, another South Jersey guy who showed up Philly Junior Tour leaderboards as a junior player, finished among the group tied for 52^nd place at 227 for the Leopards as he registered a pair of 5-over 76s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 75.

   Kelenc-Blank played scholastic golf at The Peddie School and at Choate Rosemary Hall.

   Lafayette, another Patriot League representative, finished in a tie for eighth place in the team standings with Towson and Holy Cross with a 40-over 892 total.