Gross held his spot in the starting lineup as Alabama battled its way through a tough fall schedule

 

   Did manage to sneak in a post on the college debut of Nick Gross, the 2021 PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Downingtown West who is the best player produced by District One since, I don’t know, Buddy Marucci, Jay Sigel?

   Gross finished in a somewhat unimpressive tie for 55^th place for Alabama in the Fields of Honor Collegiate, which was held at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich. But the Crimson Tide captured the team title and knowing what I know of Gross, that made it a successful debut in his eyes.

   I mentioned at the time how difficult it is for any player, let alone a freshman, to earn a spot in the starting lineup for a program like Southeastern Conference power Alabama.

   The qualifying tournaments at Alabama to get into the starting lineup were probably the most pressure Gross has felt since he was playing in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. as a 15-year-old in the summer of 2022.

   And Gross stayed in the lineup for the Crimson Tide in each of the three tournaments they played in following their victory at American Dunes.

   It did not go as well for Alabama in those three tournaments, but Jay Seawell, whose 22 seasons at the helm at Tuscaloosa includes back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014, wasn’t ducking anyone with this schedule.

   The Crimson Tide were competing all fall against the elite teams in college golf. They took their lumps, but that’s the kind of competition they’re going to be facing next spring as they try to reach their ultimate goal: A spot in the field in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Alabama didn’t reach that goal last year, but it might have made it if the Crimson Tide’s best player, Nick Dunlap, didn’t have the audacity to win a PGA Tour event, The American Express, in the California desert in January and then make the entirely correct decision to immediately turn pro.

   Alabama’s fall campaign concluded in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, which wrapped up Oct. 20th at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga. and the Crimson Tide finished in 14^th place of 14 teams. Alabama wasn’t horrible, it was just a loaded field.

   Duke, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and UCLA of the Big Ten – seriously, the Big Ten – battled it out for the team crown with the Blue Devils coming on strong with a sizzling final round of 17-under-par 271 over the 7,092-yard, par-72 Golf Club of Georgia layout to finish three shots clear of the Bruins.

   The Dookies opened with relatively modest rounds of 5-under 283 and 6-under 282 and trailed UCLA by six shots and ACC rival Virginia by five going into the final round. But Duke’s spectacular final round left the Blue Devils with a 28-under 836 total.

   UCLA, coming across the country, opened with back-to-back 8-under 280s. The Bruins weren’t bad in the final round, posting a solid 9-under 279, just not as good as Duke was as UCLA settled for a runnerup finish with a 25-under 839 total.

   Duke also had the individual champion as Ethan Evans, a junior from Mercer Island, Wash. and No. 63 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), edged a trio of pursuers by a shot to take the title with a 9-under 207 total. Evans opened with a 5-under 67 and added a 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Alabama opened with a 6-over 294 and added a 1-over 289 in the second round before struggling in the final round with a 10-over 298.

   Leading the way for the Crimson Tide were Jonathan Griz, a junior from Hilton Head, S.C. and No. 97 in the WAGR, and Dominic Clemons, a junior from England and No. 74 in the WAGR, both of whom landed in the group tied for 42^nd place at 4-over 220.

   Griz, probably Alabama’s most consistent performer during its fall campaign, added a 3-over 75 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Clemons, coming off a runnerup finish in the Royal & Ancient’s Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin Golf Club in County Donegal, Ireland in July, claimed the individual title to open his season in the Fields of Honor. Collegiate. At the Golf Club of Georgia, Clemons matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 3-under 69 in the second round before struggling with a 79 in the final round.

   It was a decent finish to the fall campaign for Gross as he opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 1-under 71 in the second round before struggling a little in the final round with a 77 to end up among the group tied for 49^th place with a 5-over 221 total.

   The trio that finished a shot behind Evans in a tie for second place at 8-under 208 included the Virginia pair of sophomore Josh Duangmanee and junior Bryan Lee, No. 18 in the WAGR, both of whom hail from Fairfax, Va., and Charlotte’s Caden Baker, a senior from Mebane, N.C.

   After opening with a 4-under 68, Duangmanee rattled off a pair of 2-under 70s. His teammate Lee opened with a 2-under 70 and stumbled a little in the second round with a 3-over 75 before closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Duangmanee and Lee were both in the lineup when the Cavaliers earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa, Virginia falling to eventual national champion Auburn in the quarterfinals.

   Baker took a three-shot lead over Evans going into the final round after he added a 5-under 67 in the second round to the sizzling 6-under 66 he recorded in the opening round. But Baker backed off a little in the final round with a 3-over 75.

   Alabama finished in a tie for eighth place with ACC power Georgia Tech in another tough 15-team field in the Ben Hogan Collegiate, which wrapped up Oct. 1^st at the iconic Colonial Country Club – Hogan’s Alley – in Fort Worth, Texas.

   The Crimson Tide got a little better each round as they opened with a 10-over 290 over the 7,289-yard, par-70 Colonial layout and added an 8-over 288 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 5-over 285 for a 23-over 863 total.

   Oklahoma and Texas, the ancient rivals who bolted the Big 12 in tandem for the SEC, finished 1-2, respectively, in the team race with the Sooners taking the title with a 10-under 830 total, four shots better than the Longhorns.

   Oklahoma was solid throughout, opening with a 4-under 276 and adding a 5-under 275 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 1-under 279.

   Texas matched par in the opening round with a 280, creeped within two shots of the Sooners with a 7-under 273, the best team round of the tournament, in the afternoon of the opening-day double round and closed with a 1-over 281 to end up with a 6-under 834 total.

   The individual title went to North Carolina’s David Ford, a senior from Peachtree Corners, Ga. and No. 6 in the WAGR, as he added a sizzling 5-under 65 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 69 before closing with a 3-under 67 for a 9-under 201 total.

   Auburn’s Brendan Valdes, a senior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 10 in the WAGR, also had three rounds in the 60s to earn runnerup honors with a 6-under 204 total. After opening with a 1-under 69, Valdes creeped within a shot of Ford with a 4-under 66 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with another 69.

   Griz led the way for Alabama as he finished among the group tied for 19^th place with a 3-over 213 total. After opening with a 4-over 74, Griz matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 70 before closing with a solid 1-under 69.

   Jack Mitchell, a sophomore from Athens, Ala., backed up Griz for the Crimson Tide as he finished in the group tied for 35^th place with a 7-over 217 total. After opening with a 5-over 75, Mitchell matched par with a 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before finishing up with a 72.

   Gross had a decent showing at Colonial as he opened with a 1-over 71 and added a 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 2-over 72 as he finished in the group tied for 40^th place with an 8-over 218 total.

   Gross wasn’t the only PIAA champion in the field as Auburn redshirt senior Carson Bacha, the winner of the Class AAA state crown in 2019 as a senior at Central York and No. 39 in the WAGR, finished among the group tied for 55^th place with an 11-over 221 total.

   Bacha added a 2-over 72 in the afternoon of the opening-round double round after opening with a 73 before struggling a little in the final round with a 76.

   On its way to Colonial and in the aftermath of its victory in the Fields of Honor Collegiate, Alabama was tested by another of America’s classic golf courses, Olympia Fields Country Club in suburban Chicago, the site of the U.S. Open in 1928 and 2003 and the PGA Championship in 1925 and 1961, in the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational, hosted by Big Ten power Illinois.

   Alabama finished in 12^th place in the 15-team field with a 16-over 856 total over the 7,310-yard, par-70 Olympia Fields layout. Again, it was a tough field with 14 of the 15 teams having received bids to the NCAA regionals last spring.

   After opening with a 291, the Crimson Tide added a 6-over 286 in the second round before getting it in red figures in the final round with a 1-under 279. The OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational wrapped up Sept. 22^nd.

   It was a two-horse race for the team crown with ACC power Georgia Tech edging Arizona State, one of the Pac-12 refugees that landed in the Big 12, by a shot.

   The Yellow Jackets trailed Arizona State by eight shots going into the final round, but they surged past the Sun Devils with an 8-under 272 that left them with a 12-under 828 total.

   The original schedule for the event was altered by the threat of stormy weather Sept. 22^nd. The three-day event was squeezed almost into two days with the final round nearly completed Sept. 21^st following the completion of the second round.

   Only one group had to complete play and while Arizona State’s Jose Luis Ballester, a senior from Spain and No. 5 in the WAGR, finished off a two-shot victory over Georgia Tech’s Benjamin Reuter, a redshirt junior from The Netherlands and No. 66 in the WAGR, in the individual chase, it was Reuter and the Yellow Jackets who held on for the team crown.

   Georgia Tech had opened with a 1-under 279 and added a 3-under 277 in the second round to keep Arizona State in its sights.

   The Sun Devils opened with a 7-under 273 and added a 276 in the second round, but couldn’t hold the lead as they matched par in the final round with a 280 that left them a shot behind Georgia Tech with an 11-under 829 total.

   Ballester, a month removed from his U.S. Amateur victory at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., torched the venerable Olympia Fields layout with a 6-under 64 in the opening round and added a 66 in the second round before finally finishing up an even-par 70 in the rain in the early hours of Sept. 22^nd for a 10-under 200 total.

   Reuter matched Ballester’s opening-round 64, but fell four shots behind the Spaniard when he matched par in the second round with a 70. Reuter closed with a solid 2-under 68 to earn runnerup honors in the individual chase with an 8-under 202 total.

   Seawell sent out the same lineup that had won the Fields of Honor Collegiate, a starting five that he stuck with for the remaining two tournaments on the Crimson Tide’s fall schedule.

   Griz led the way for Alabama as he finished in the group tied for 17^th place with an even-par 210 total. After opening with a 2-over 72, Griz registered back-to-back 1-under 69s in the final two rounds.

   Clemons and Jones Free, a senior from Selma, Ala., both landed in the group tied for 37^th place at 5-over 215.

   Clemons matched par in the second round with a 70 after opening with a 2-over 72 before closing with a 3-over 73. Free opened with a 3-over 73 and added a 75 in the second round before finishing strong with a sparkling 3-under 67.

   Mitchell finished in the group tied for 55^th place at 9-over 219 as he added a 2-over 72 in the second round to his opening-round 74 before closing with a 73.

   After opening with a 5-over 75, Gross was unable to turn in a card in the second round. He matched par in the final round with a counting 70.

   It was certainly an eventful first fall of college golf for Gross. It will be interesting to see how he holds up as Alabama heads toward the SEC Championship and likely beyond in the spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fall of Lofland's senior season at Penn State has its ups and downs

 

   It’s been three years since Morgan Lofland arrived at Penn State, coming off an outstanding scholastic career at Conestoga that included two trips to the PIAA Class AAA Championship. He had won the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship earlier that summer at Hershey Country Club.

   Lofland has had his ups and downs at Penn State, as most college golfers do. He wasn’t even in the lineup for Penn State’s first event on the schedule for the wraparound 2024-2025 season. But as the fall wore on, Lofland was back among the first five for the Nittany Lions.

   Never could get to a Penn State tournament during a busy fall on the local golf scene, but wanted to check in on Lofland and recap the fall campaign for the Nittany Lions. As usual, ran into some other names of interest for some other programs along the way.

   Lofland’s best stretch came in the middle of the fall, which included the inaugural Canadian Collegiate Invitational, which wrapped up Sept. 17^th at Oviinbyrd Golf Club in Foots Bay, Ontario, followed by the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational, which finished up Oct. 1^st at the Nemacolin Resort’s Mystic Rock Golf Course in Farmington, Pa.

   Lofland was not in the lineup when Penn State opened its season by finishing in 15^th place in a loaded 16-team field in the Knoxville Collegiate, which wrapped up Sept. 8^th at the Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn.

   Jake Griffin, a senior from Kensington, Md., was Penn State’s best player during the fall portion of its schedule. He finished in a tie for 40^th place in the Knoxville Collegiate as he matched par in the opening round with a 70, added a 3-over 73 in the second round and closed with a 72 for a 5-over 215 total.

   Penn State finished with a 43-over 883 total.

   Southeastern Conference powers LSU and Mississippi battled it out for the team title with the Tigers matching par in the final round with a 280 to edge the Rebels by two shots with a 23-under 817 total. Ole Miss had taken a one-shot lead into the final round after adding a sizzling 13-under 267 in the second round to its opening-round 268 before finishing up with a 3-over 283.

   Lofland was in the lineup a little over a week later, finishing in 13^th place with a 4-under 212 total, as Penn State, one of the co-hosts, finished in sixth place in the 10-team field with an even-par 864 total in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational.

   Penn State opened with a 2-over 290, added a 289 in the second round and closed with a 3-under 285 for an even-par total over the par-72 Oviinbyrd layout.

   Lofland opened with a solid 4-under 68 and added a 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Alex Creamean, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., finished among the group tied for 14^th place with a 2-under 214 total as he matched par in the first two rounds with back-to-back 72s before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Griffin finished strong with a 3-under 69 to end up in the group tied for 23^rd place with a 1-over 217 total. Griffin matched par in the opening round with a 72 before struggling a little in the second round with a 4-over 76.

   Notre Dame, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, captured the team crown in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational with a 17-under 847 total. The Fighting Irish, who reached the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1966 last spring, matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added an 8-under 280 in the second round before closing with a 7-under 281.

   A couple of Pennsylvania scholastic standouts of recent vintage, sophomore Rocco Salvitti, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, and junior Calen Sanderson, the PIAA Class AAA champion in the pandemic year of 2020 as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, were in the lineup for Notre Dame at Ovvinbyrd.

   Salvitti finished in a tie for 19^th place with a 1-under 215 total as he matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Sanderson recorded back-to-back 1-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 75 to finish in a tie for 30^th place with a 5-over 221 total.

   A couple of weeks later, Penn State finished in a tie for fourth place in a 14-team field in the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational with a 21-over 885 total.

   The Nittany Lions bounced back from an opening-round 308 with a 5-over 293 in the second round of an opening-day double round over the par-72 Mystic Rock layout before closing with a solid 4-under 284.

   Creamean, who transferred to Penn State following his freshman season at Bucknell, led the way for Penn State as he closed with a solid 3-under 69 to finish in a tie for eighth place with a 2-over 218 total. Creamean had opened with a 4-over 76 before adding a 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.

   Griffin backed up Creamean with another solid showing as he finished in the group tied for 13^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Griffin matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 and then finished up with a 74.

   Andres Barraza, a junior from Parkland, Fla., gave Penn State a third finisher inside the top 20 as he shot up the leaderboard with a final round of 2-under 70 and ended up alone in 19^th place with a 7-over 223 total. Barraza, who also transferred to Penn State from Bucknell, had opened with a 6-over 78 before adding a 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.

   Robby O’Regan, a sophomore from Northbrook, Ill., finished among the group tied for 25^th place with a 9-over 225 total. O’Regan bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Lofland rounded out the Penn State lineup as he struggled in the opening-day double round with a pair of 7-over 79s before closing with a 73 to finish in the group tied for 48^th place with a 231 total.

   Will Preston, a freshman from Ada, Mich., competed as an individual for the Nittany Lions and finished among the group tied for 54^th place with a 233 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Preston struggled to an 81 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before finishing up with a 78.

   Lot of interesting names on the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational leaderboard, led by George Mason junior Logan Paczewski, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Dallas who finished in a tie for fourth place with a 1-under 215 total.

   Paczewski, who transferred to George Mason, an Atlantic 10 representative, after spending two years at Rutgers, matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Paczewski also has a Golf Association of Philadelphia major championship on his resume having won the Patterson Cup in a playoff in 2023 at Llanerch Country Club.

   George Mason was the runnerup in the team chase at Nemacolin, finishing 12 shots behind tournament host West Virginia, out of the Big 12, with a 14-over 878 total.

   West Virginia was led by the individual winner, Kaleb Wilson, a junior from Knoxville, Tenn. who got it under par in each of his three rounds for a 7-under 281 total. Wilson opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 4-under 68 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Richmond senior Patrick Isztwan, the runnerup in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in 2023 at his home course at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, finished in 11^th place with a 3-over 219 total after closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Isztwan, winner of the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual crown in 2017 as a freshman at Penn Charter, had struggled in the opening round with a 78 before matching par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 72.

   The 11^th-place finish at Nemacolin was a career-best for Isztwan, which he bettered less than two weeks later with his first career top 10, a tie for ninth place in the RedHawk Intercollegiate at the Pittsburgh Field Club.

   Isztwan finished with a 3-under 210 total, helping the Spiders finish in third place in the team standings in the RedHawk Intercollegiate.

   Richmond, a Patriot League entry, finished in a tie for fourth place in the team standings with a 21-over 889 total.

   Delaware, in its final season in the Coastal Athletic Association, finished in eighth place in the team standings at Nemacolin with a 36-over 900 total.

   The Blue Hens were led by Egor Zubov, a senior from Israel who finished in a tie for eighth place with a 2-over 218 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Zubov matched par in each of the last two rounds with back-to-back 72s.

   Another interesting name that popped up at Nemacolin was that of Robert Morris redshirt sophomore Chuck Tragresser, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup behind Sanderson in 2020 as a senior at Franklin Regional.

   Tragresser, who joined the program at Robert Morris, which plays out of the Horizon League, after transferring from Rhode Island, finished in a tie for 48^th place at Nemacolin with a 231 total. Tragresser bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 77.

   The next stop on the schedule for Penn State and second-year coach Mark Leon was supposed to be the Island at West Bay Collegiate Invitational at The West Bay Club in Estero, Fla., but the approach of Hurricane Milton forced the event to be cancelled.

   Penn State wrapped up its fall campaign in the Qubein Cup, which wrapped up Oct. 16 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

   The Nittany Lions finished in 12^th place in the tough 13-team field with a 73-over 913 total.

   Griffin led the way for Penn State as he completed a solid fall campaign by finishing among the group tied for 26^th place with a 12-over 222 total over the par-70 Sedgefield layout. Griffin added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 74.

   O’Regan closed with a 79 after signing for a pair of 7-over 77s in the opening-day double round as he finished in the group tied for 65^th place with a 233 total.

   Creamean struggled in the opening-day double round with a pair of 80s before closing with a 6-over 76 as he finished alone in 73^rd place with a 236 total.

   Lofland rebounded from a disastrous opening-round 88 as he added a 7-over 77 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 73 to finish in 75^th place with a 238 total. Not the way he would have liked to finish the fall campaign of his senior season, but he had shown some flashes of his talent in his three starts.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Barraza, who was unable to turn in a scorecard in the second round. He had opened with an 8-over 78 and finished up with a 73.

   Zach Smith, a sophomore from Canada, competed as an individual and was solid in the opening-day double round following up a 1-over 71 in the opening round with a 75. Smith, however, was unable to turn in a card for the final round.

   It will be an interesting spring portion of the wraparound 2024-’25 season for Penn State. The Big Ten Championship, which includes former Pac-12 powers Southern California, UCLA and Oregon for the first time, will be held at Baltimore Country Club in April.

   Southern Conference power Chattanooga claimed the team title in the Qubein Cup as the Moccasins finished with an 18-over 858 total.

   Chattanooga was led by individual champion Camden Braidech, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz. who finished with a 3-under 207 total. Braidech took control of the individual chase by opening with a sparkling 4-under 66, the best round of the tournament. He added a 1-over 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70. He was the only player to finish under par for the tournament.

   Chattanooga senior Garrett Engle, a product of Central Dauphin who never participated in the PIAA postseason, finished in the large group tied for 26^th place with a 12-over 222 total.

   Engle, who reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Amateur in August at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., matched par in the opening round with a 70 before adding back-to-back 6-over 76s in the final two rounds.