Maybe senior Connor Schmidt, the Peters Township product,
thought his program record of 6-under-par wouldn’t last long enough.
Maybe 14-under might be a little higher bar for future
Dragons to shoot for. Schmidt shattered his Drexel record in relation to par as
he went really low at the Elon Phoenix Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday
at Alamance Country Club, a Donald Ross design in Burlington, N.C.
Schmidt, the 2018 Pennsylvania Amateur champion, opened
Monday’s double round with a 6-under 65 over the 6,867-yard, par-71 Alamance
layout before adding a 4-under 67 in the afternoon. He fired another 67 in
Tuesday’s final round for a 14-under 199 total that left him in second place,
five shots behind individual champion Jake Scruggs, a junior from Shelby, N.C.
Scruggs authored an other-worldly 10-under 61 in Monday
afternoon’s second round, a loop that featured 11 birdies, to take control of
the individual chase. He had opened with a more modest 3-under 68. Scruggs
closed with a 6-under 65 for a spectacular 19-under 194 total.
Scruggs led Gardner-Webb to a one-shot victory over Morehead
State in a closely contested team chase. The Runnin’ Bulldogs opened with a
3-over 287, but then, fueled by Scruggs’ 61, fired a sizzling 15-under 269 in
Monday afternoon’s second round. A final round of 7-under 277 left Gardner-Webb
with a 19-under 833 total.
Morehead State took a one-shot lead into the final round
after going 4-under 280 and 9-under 275 in Monday’s double round. A final round
of 5-under 279 left the Eagles a shot behind Gardner-Webb with an 18-under 834
total.
Appalachian State was nine shots behind Morehead State in
third place at 9-under 843 after closing with an 8-under 276, matching the low
round of the day Tuesday. Host Elon was two shots behind Appalachian State in
fourth place at 7-under 845 after posting a second straight 4-under 280.
Drexel, behind Schmidt’s runnerup individual finish,
finished in fifth placed at 5-under 847. After opening with a 4-under 280, the
Dragons, fueled by a scintillating 7-under 64 by Angelo Giantsopoulos, a junior
from Canada, and Schmidt’s 67, fired a 9-under 275 in Monday afternoon’s second
round. Drexel closed with an 8-over 292.
Drexel was joined in the 16-team field by two other City 6
entries, Temple, which finished 12th at 6-over 858, and La Salle,
which ended up in 16th place at 23-over 875.
The Owls, getting strong showings from their McGrath
brothers, Liam, a senior, and Conor, a sophomore, bettered par in Tuesday’s
final round with a 3-under 281. The Explorers’ best round was a 3-over 287 in
Monday afternoon’s second round before they finished up with an 8-over 292.
Backing up Scruggs for Gardner-Webb was Steffen Smith, a
senior from Alpharetta, Ga. who finished in the group tied for 14th
place at 4-under 209. Smith contributed a 4-under 67 to the Runnin’ Bulldogs’
spectacular second-round showing and closed with a 2-under 69.
Zach Byers, a sophomore for Shelby, N.C., added a pair of
1-under 70s to his opening round of 1-over 72 to join the group tied for 28th
place at 1-under 212. Miles Albright, a sophomore from Ocala, Fla., closed with
a 2-over 73, a crucial final counter for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, to finish among
the group tied for 53rd place at 5-over 218.
Rounding out the Gardner-Webb lineup was Andy Yang, a
sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas who finished alone in 90th place at
229 after closing with a 78.
Third place in the individual chase went to Towson’s Spencer
Alexander, a senior from Newton, Mass. who followed up an opening-round 69 with
a pair of 4-under 67s to finish at 10-under 203, four shots behind Drexel’s
Schmidt.
George Mason’s Hayden Miller, a freshman from Leesburg, Va.,
got it going in Tuesday’s final round, firing a 7-under 64 that moved him into
fourth place at 9-under 204, a shot behind Alexander.
Morehead State’s runnerup team finish was led by Joe
Muschong, a junior from Lexington, Ky. who shared fifth place in the individual
standings with Wofford’s Walker Simas, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., and Ohio
University’s Austin Dyson, a senior from Dublin, Ohio, each landing on 7-under
206.
Muschong opened with a sparkling 7-under 64 and added a
1-under 70 before closing with a 1-over 72. Simas closed with a 4-under 67
while Dyson opened with a 6-under 65 and matched par with a 71 Monday afternoon
before closing with a 1-under 70.
Giantsopoulos backed up Schmidt for Drexel as his
second-round 64 helped him finish among the group tied for 14th
place at 4-under 209. Giantsopoulos had opened with a 1-under 70, but struggled
a little in the final round with a 4-over 75.
Jeffrey Cunningham, a junior from West Palm Beach, Fla.,
also posted a final-round 75 after a pair of 1-over 72s in Monday’s double
round to end up in the group tied for 56th place at 6-over 219.
Senior Alex Butler, a member of St. Joseph’s Prep’s 2014 PIAA Class AAA
championship team, finished among the group tied for 68th place at
8-over 221 after also closing with a 75.
Rounding out the lineup was junior Stephen Cerbara, the 2015
PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Holy Ghost Prep who finished in the
group tied for 78th place at 10-over 223. Cerbara was solid in
Monday’s double round with a 2-over 73 and a counting 1-over 72 before
struggling in the final round with a 78.
Temple’s McGrath brothers, both Academy of the New Church
products, posted top-20 showings in the best performances of their college
careers.
Liam McGrath, a senior, closed with a sparkling 6-under 65
to finish alone in 13th place at 5-under 209. Conor McGrath, a
sophomore, sandwiched a 1-over 72 with a pair of 2-under 69s to end up in the
group tied for 19th place at 3-under 210. The McGraths are products
of the junior program at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.
Junior Dawson Anders, who starred scholastically at
Souderton, and Danny Nguyen, a freshman from Vietnam, both landed among the
group tied for 72nd place at 9-over 222. Anders, winner of the 2017
Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship, closed with his
best round of the tournament, a 2-over 73, while Nguyen posted three
consecutive 3-over 74s.
Another freshman on head coach Brian Quinn’s young roster,
Graham Chase of Charlotte, N.C., rounded out the Temple lineup as he finished
among the group tied for 80th place at 224. Chase posted a counting
1-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 78.
Aaron Tobin, a senior from Tampa, Fla., and Matt Kristick, a
junior from Berlin, Md., competed as individuals for the Owls in the Elon
Phoenix Invitational.
Tobin struggled in the opening round with a 78 before
posting solid rounds of 73 Monday afternoon and 74 Tuesday to end up in the
group tied for 83rd place at 225. Kristick bounced back from an
opening-round 80 with a 79 Monday afternoon before closing with a 77 to land
among the group tied for 94th place at 236.
Leading the way for La Salle was senior Parker Wine, a
former Unionville standout who finished in the group tied for 44th
place at 3-over 216. Wine matched par in both rounds Monday with a pair of 71s
before closing with a 74.
Three Explorers landed among the group tied for 68th
at 8-over 221, including junior David Kim, who starred scholastically at Upper
Dublin, Ron Fischang, a junior from McKinney, Texas, and freshman Nikita
Romanov, a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour standout who was one of
Delaware’s top high school players at Mount Pleasant.
Kim closed with his best round of the tournament, a 1-over
72. Fischang had solid rounds of 2-over 73 and even-par 71 in Monday’s double
round before struggling to 77 in Tuesday’s final round. Romanov, off to a solid
start to his college career, matched par in the final round with a 71.
Rounding out the La Salle lineup was another freshman,
Karsen Rush, who starred scholastically at Chambersburg. Rush bounced back from
an opening-round 75 with a solid 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round
before closing with a 75 that left him in the group tied for 78th place
at 223.
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