Lydon, Taylor help Drexel finish fifth in ODU/OBX Intercollegiate at Kilmarlic

 

   Drexel, behind solid showings from seniors Kevin Lydon, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Central Bucks West in 2021, and Caleb Taylor of Woodbine, Md., finished in fifth place in the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate last week at Kilmarlic Golf Club in Powells Point, N.C.

   With three of the six Big 5 teams in the field at Kilmarlic, I was thinking of just recapping the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate in an expected post on the Big 5 Championship, scheduled for Thursday at Union League Liberty Hill.

   But all-day rain forced the postponement of the Big 5 Championship, which will now be played this Thursday, Nov. 6 at The 1912 Club.

   The same weather system that would eventually find its way to the Philadelphia area was approaching Powells Point on the Outer Banks, so the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate, originally scheduled as single rounds Oct. 27^th, 28^th and 29^th was squeezed into two days with teams playing 27 holes that Monday the 27^th and 27 holes the following day, Tuesday the 28^th.

   William & Mary, one of Drexel’s Coastal Athletic Association rivals, claimed its first team title in a tournament since 2018, finishing up with back-to-back 5-under-par 279s in the final two rounds over the 6,554-yard, par-71 Kilmarlic layout as the Tribe finished with an even-par 852 total. William & Mary’s 5-under 279s were the low team rounds of the tournament.

   William & Mary was led by individual champion Eli Felty, a freshman from North Chesterfield, Va. who finished with a 4-under 209 total, a shot better than Georgetown’s Carson Erick, a freshman from Hingham, Mass.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Felty negotiated a second round played over two days with a 2-under 69 before closing with another 69.

   William & Mary had opened with a 10-over 294 before getting it in at 5-under in each of the last two rounds to finish seven shots clear of runnerup Georgetown, a Big East representative.

   Georgetown, behind Erick’s individual runnerup finish, was seven shots ahead of William & Mary after opening with a 3-over 287. The Hoyas added a 5-over 289 in a second round played over two days to fall three shots behind the Tribe before finishing up with a solid 1-under 283 for a 7-over 859 total.

   Erick opened with a 1-over 72 and had the individual lead when the second round was finally completed as he carded a sizzling 5-under 66, the low individual round of the tournament. Erick closed with another 1-over 72 to finish a shot behind Felty with a 3-under 210 total.

   Longwood, a Big South Conference entry, finished two shots behind Georgetown in third place with a 9-over 861 total. The Lancers were solid throughout, adding a 2-over 286 in the second round to their opening round of 3-over 287 before closing with a 4-over 288.

   Longwood was led by Matthew Lyons, a redshirt sophomore from Canada who shared third place in the individual standings with William & Mary’s Preston Burton, a junior from Charlottesville, Va., Maryland Eastern Shore’s Andreas Roman, a freshman from Spain, and East Carolina’s Philip Linberg Bondestad, a senior from Norway, each landing on 1-under 212, two shots behind Georgetown’s Erick.

   Lyons opened with a solid 2-under 69 and matched par in the second round with a 71 before closing with a 1-over 72.

   East Carolina, another CAA entry, finished two shots behind Longwood in fourth place with an 11-over 963 total. The Pirates sandwiched a solid 1-under 283 in the second round with a pair of 6-over 290s.

   Linberg Bondestad led the way for East Carolina as he opened with a 2-over 73 and added a sparkling 4-under 67 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 72 that left him in the group tied for third place at 1-under.

   It was another nine shots back to Drexel in fifth place – the third CAA team among the top five – with a 20-over 872 total. The Dragons added a 6-over 290 in the second round to their opening-round 294 before closing with a 4-over 288.

   Lydon and Taylor were among the group tied for 12^th place at 3-over 216.

   After opening with a 3-over 74 and adding a 73 in the second round, Lydon, who teed it up in the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco in August, closed with a 2-under 69, the low round of the tournament for the Dragons, to get it to 3-over. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Taylor added a 2-over 73 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 72.

   La Salle, an Atlantic 10 representative, finished in seventh place with a 26-over 878 total as the Explorers bounced back from an opening-round 300 with back-to-back 10-over 294s in the final two rounds.

   Saint Joseph’s, one of La Salle’s Atlantic 10 rivals and the third of the Big 5 teams in the field, finished in 15^th place in the 16-team field with a 902 total. After opening with a 301, the Hawks posted a 9-over 293 in the second round before struggling to a 308 in the final round.

   Backing up Elty for William & Mary was Burton as he rebounded from an opening round of 5-over 76 with solid back-to-back 3-under 68s in the final two rounds that enabled him to join the quartet tied for third place at 1-under.

   Matthew Monastero, a graduate student from Leesburg, Va., gave the Tribe a third top-10 finisher as he ended up in a tie for 10^th place with Longwood’s David Lafreniere, a junior from Canada, each recording a 2-over 215 total.

   After opening with a 4-over 75, Monastero contributed back-to-back 1-under 70s to help William & Mary maintain its advantage over Georgetown.

   Talon Dingledine, a freshman from Chesterfield, Va., rattled off three straight 1-over 72s as he finished among the group tied for 12^th place for William & Mary with a 3-over 216 total.

   Rounding out the lineup for William & Mary was Grady Williams, a sophomore from Manakin-Sabot, Va. who finished in the group tied for 57^th place at 14-over 227. Williams improved with each round, adding a 5-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 78 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Maryland Eastern Shore’s Roman matched the low round of the opening round with a sparkling 4-under 67 and matched par in the second round with a 71 before backing off a little with a 3-over 74 in the final round that left him among the group tied for third place at 1-under.

   Oscar Crowe, a freshman from Boca Raton, Fla., gave East Carolina another top-seven finisher as he finished in a tie for seventh place with North Dakota’s Joe Kortan, a junior from Moorhead, Minn., and Murray State’s Sam Guest, a sophomore from Louisville, Ky., each tallying a 1-over 214 total.

   After opening with a 1-under 70, Crowe added back-to-back 1-over 72s in the final two rounds.

   Kortan matched the 4-under 67 posted by Maryland Eastern Shore’s Roman in the opening round and added a 1-over 72 in the second round before closing with a 75. Guest opened with a solid 2-under 69 and matched par in the second round with a 71 before finishing up with a 3-over 74.

   Lafreniere gave Longwood a second top-10 finisher as he opened with a 1-under 70 and added a 1-over 72 in the second round before closing with a 73 that enabled him to join William & Mary’s Monastero in the tie for 10^th place at 2-over.

   Backing up Lydon and Taylor for Drexel was senior John Keba, an Allentown Central Catholic product who gave the Dragons a third top-20 finisher as he ended up in the group tied for 19^th place with a 5-over 218 total.

   After opening with a 5-over 76, Keba matched par in each of the final two rounds with back-to-back 71s.

   Junior Jake Haberstumpf, a scholastic standout at Bethlehem’s Freedom High, finished in a tie for 35^th place for Drexel at 9-over 222 as he posted back-to-back 2-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 5-over 76.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was sophomore John Stevenson, who starred scholastically at Catholic League power La Salle and was the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Player of the Year in 2024 with wins in both the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship and the Christman Cup.

   Stevenson carded back-to-back 5-over 76s in the first two rounds before closing with an 82 as he finished in a tie for 76^th place with a 236 total.

   Leading the way for La Salle was Armand Loscalzo, a senior from Mount Pleasant, S.C. who finished among the trio tied for 16^th place with a 4-over 217 total. Loscalzo added a 1-under 70 in the second round to his opening round of 2-over 73 before finishing up with a 74.

   Payton Hawke, a sophomore from Canada, backed up Loscalzo for the Explorers as he finished in the group tied for 19^th place with a 5-over 218 total. Hawke bounced back from an opening round of 6-over 77 with a 1-under 70 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Gavin Dosch, a junior from Draper, Utah, finished among the group tied for 37^th place with a 10-over 223 total as he matched par in the second round with a 71 after opening with a 4-over 75 and then closed with a 77.

   Kyle Virsik, a freshman from Melbourne, Fla., finished in the group tied for 51^st place at 226 for the Explorers as he bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 2-over 73 in the second round and a 1-over 72 in the final round.

   Rounding out the La Salle lineup was Alexander Yong, a sophomore from Stockton, N.J. who finished among the group tied for 57^th place with a 227 total as he registered back-to-back 4-over 75s in the first two rounds before closing with a 77.

   Leading the way for Saint Joseph’s was George Williamson Jr., a freshman from Sykesville, Md. who finished among the group tied for 37^th place with a 10-over 223 total. Williamson added a 5-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 74 before finishing up with his best round of the tournament, a 2-over 73.

   Backing up Williamson for the Hawks was senior Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wissahickon who finished in the group tied for 43^rd place with a 224 total. Matt added a 1-over 72 in the second round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 77.

   Freshman Sam Feeney, the District One Class AAA champion as a junior at West Chester Rustin in 2023, finished in a tie for 62^nd place for St. Joe’s with a 228 total as he matched par in the second round with a 71 after opening with a 5-over 76 before struggling in the final round with an 81.

   Junior Noah Moelter, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks South in 2022, finished in a tie for 69^th place for the Hawks with a 231 total. Moelter added a 3-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 76 before closing with an 81.

   Rounding out the Saint Joseph’s lineup was freshman Michael Henry Jr., the runnerup in the Inter-Ac League’s Bert Linton Invitational in 2023 as a junior at Malvern Prep. Henry finished in a tie for 71^st place with a 233 total as he posted back-to-back 6-over 78s in the first two rounds before closing with a 77.

   Longwood got a solid showing from sophomore Hunter Swidzinski, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2023 as a senior at Butler. Swidzinski finished in a tie for 25^th place with a 6-over 219 total for the Lancers as he recorded back-to-back 1-over 72s in the final two rounds after opening with a 75.

   Robert Morris redshirt junior Chuck Tragresser, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Franklin Regional in the pandemic year of 2020, finished among the group tied for 37^th place for the Colonials with a 10-over 223 total. Tragresser matched par in the second round with a 71 after opening with a 4-over 75 before closing with a 77.