Elon, getting a 1-2 finish from Graham Hutchinson, a junior
from Dallas, Texas, and Quade Lukes, a senior from Chapel Hill, N.C., rolled to
a 20-shot victory in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate Championship, which wrapped
up Sunday at the Pinehurst Resort’s No. 8 Course in Pinehurst, N.C.
Hutchinson was really the only player in the field to get a
handle on the tough conditions, which included wind and cold, on a tough
6,937-yard, par-71 Pinehurst No 8 layout. Hutchinson matched par in Friday’s
opening round with a 71 and added a 1-under 70 in Saturday’s second round
before closing with a 1-over 72 that left him with an even-par total of 213,
six shots clear of his teammate Lukes and two other players.
The Phoenix opened with a 7-over 291 and added a 10-over 294
in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 9-over 293 for a 26-over 878
total.
Hutchinson had finished in a tie for fifth place, two shots
out of a four-way playoff for the title, and helped Elon end up in fourth place
in last spring’s Colonial Athletic Association Championship at the same
Pinehurst No. 8 Course. This spring’s CAA Championship will be held at the
Reserve Club at St. James Plantation in Southport, N.C.
An early March weekend in tough conditions at Pinehurst
figures to be good preparation for the conference championships on the horizon.
Davidson, out of the Atlantic 10, closed with a 13-over 297
to claim runnerup honors at 46-over 898, 20 shots behind Elon. The Wildcats
only trailed Elon by four after opening with a 298, but struggled to a 303 in
Saturday’s second round.
It was another four shots back to Big South Conference
representative Radford and Belmont, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, in a tie
for third place at 50-over 902.
The Highlanders sandwiched a 306 in Saturday’s second round
with a pair of 298s. After struggling to rounds of 309 Friday and 306 Saturday,
the Bruins finished up with the best team round of the weekend, a solid 3-over
287.
Elon’s CAA rival Drexel also struggled in the first two
rounds, carding a 309 Friday and a 304 Saturday, before closing with an 11-over
295 that enabled the Dragons to finish fifth in the 13-team field at 56-over
908, six shots behind Radford and Belmont.
Lukes backed up Hutchinson for the Phoenix, finishing in a
three-way tie for second at 6-over 219. Lukes opened with a 76 as gusty winds
replaced morning rain, but bounced back by matching par with a 71 in Saturday’s
second round before closing with a 1-over 72 in Sunday’s final round, the start
of which was pushed back by a frost delay.
Max Ferrari, a redshirt junior from Framingham, Mass., gave
Elon a third player in the top five as Ferrari shared fifth place at 7-over
220. Ferrari matched his teammate Hutchinson’s even-par 71 in the opening
round, struggled to a 76 in Saturday’s second round and closed with a 2-over
73.
Bronson Myers, a freshman from Columbia, S.C., was
consistent all weekend, sandwiching a 77 in Saturday’s second round with a pair
of 76s to land among the group tied for 21st place at 229.
Rounding out the Elon lineup was Josef Dransfeld, a
sophomore from Huntingdon, W.Va. who finished in the group tied for 49th
place at 236. Dransfeld struggled in Saturday’s second round with an 80 and in
Sunday’s final round with an 83, but his opening round of 2-over 73 was a big
factor in the fast start for the Phoenix.
Joining Elon’s Lukes in the trio tied for second place at
219 were Old Dominion’s Gustav Fransson, a junior from Sweden, and Davidson’s
Alex Ross, a senior from Atlanta.
Fransson, whose sixth-place finish in last month’s Martin
Downs Collegiate, hosted by North Carolina Greensboro in Palm City, Fla.,
helped the Monarchs edge Elon by a shot for fourth place, trailed Hutchinson by
just two shots after posting rounds of 1-over 72 in Friday’s opening round and
even-par 71 in Saturday’s second round, fell back with a final-round 76.
Ross matched par in the final round with a 71 to climb into
the three-way tie for second place.
Joining Elon’s Ferrari in the tie for fifth place at 7-over
220 was Longwood’s Brandon Weaver, a senior from Purcellville, Va. After
opening with a 75, Weaver bounced back with a 1-over 72 in Saturday’s second
round before closing with a 2-over 73.
Belmont’s Evan Davis, a junior from Lexington, Ky., matched
par in the final round with a 71 to finish alone in seventh place at 8-over
221. Davidson’s Dean Naime, a sophomore from Egypt, finished alone in eighth
place at 9-over 222 after a steady weekend during which he opened with a 75 and
added a 2-over 73 Saturday before closing with a 74.
Holy Cross’ Harrison Thayer, a junior from South Burlington,
Vt., finished up with a solid 1-over 72 to claim ninth place at 10-over 223.
Drexel got a pair of top-10 finishes in the individual
standings as standout senior Connor Schmidt, the Peters Township product who
won the 2018 Pennsylvania Amateur title at Sunnehanna Country Club near
Johnstown, and Angelo Giantsopoulos, a junior from Canada, were part of a
three-way tie for 10th place at 11-over 224.
Schmidt, who was part of the tie for fifth place along with
Elon’s Hutchinson in last spring’s CAA Championship at Pinehurst No. 8, was
steady all weekend, adding a pair of 75s to his opening round of 3-over 74.
Giantsopoulos was the Drexel medalist in Sunday’s final
round with a 1-over 72. He had opened with a 78, but bounced back with a 3-over
74 in Saturday’s second round.
Rounding out the trio at 224 was Radford’s Peter Gasperini,
a redshirt senior from South Boston, Va. who added a final round of 3-over 74
to the pair of 75s he posted in the first two rounds.
Backing up Schmidt and Giantsopoulos for the Dragons was
senior Alex Butler, an East Norriton resident and a junior on St. Joseph’s
Prep’s 2014 PIAA Class AAA championship team. Butler contributed a 2-over 73 to
Drexel’s solid finish in Sunday’s final round to land among the group tied for
27th place at 230. He struggled to an 82 in Friday’s opening round,
but bounced back with a 4-over 75 in Saturday’s second round.
Jeffrey Cunningham, a junior from West Palm Beach, Fla., had
his best round of the weekend in Sunday’s windup, a 4-over 75, as he finished
among the group tied for 43rd place at 234. Cunningham struggled in
his first two tours of Pinehurst No. 8, carding a 79 in Friday’s opening round
and an 80 in the second round.
Rounding out the Drexel lineup was junior Stephen Cerbara,
the 2015 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Holy Ghost Prep who finished
alone in 56th place at 239. Cerbara’s opening-round 78 was a counter
for the Dragons and he finished up with a 76, but struggled to an 85 in
Saturday’s second round.
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