Jacksonville State takes team title in Sea Palms Invitational while Drexel gets back in action

    You could hardly expect Ben Feld’s Drexel golf team to be real sharp in its first competitive event as a team since about a year ago.

   With the coronavirus pandemic stealing the end of the Dragons’ wraparound 2019-2020 season and the entire fall portion of the wraparound 2020-’21 campaign, they finally teed it up in the Sea Palms Invitational, hosted by Western Carolina at the Sea Palms Resort on St. Simons Island, Ga.

   The tournament wrapped up Saturday and Drexel finished in 13^th place in the 16-team field with a 55-over-par 907 total over the 6,608-yard, par-71 Sea Palms Resort Course layout, 37 shots behind team champion Jacksonville State. Looks like the course was somewhat gettable in Thursday’s opening round, but conditions took a turn for the worse for Friday’s second round and Saturday’s final round.

   Something tells me, none of it, not the conditions, not the difficulty of the golf course, not the scores that were a little higher than they had hoped, took away from the excitement of just being out there competing again as a team for Drexel. Like so many things during this pandemic, that excitement’s been missing and I’m sure Feld’s team was thrilled to have that feeling back.

   Jacksonville State got off to a fast start with a sparkling 7-under 277 in Thursday’s opening round. The Gamecocks struggled a little in the second round with a 14-over 298, but still entered Saturday’s final round with a one-shot lead over host Western Carolina. Jacksonville State then finished up with an 11-over 295 for an 18-over 870 total that enabled it to hold on for a three-shot victory over Appalachian State.

   The Mountaineers had opened with a 1-under 283 and crept within three shots of Jacksonville State with an 11-over 295 in Friday’s second round before matching the Gamecocks for the low round of Saturday’s final round with another 11-over 295 that earned them runnerup honors with a 21-over 873 total.

   Chattanooga, behind individual champion A.J. Lintunen, a redshirt junior from Finland, was another six shots behind Appalachian State in third place at 27-over 879. After opening up with a 1-over 285, the Moccasins were also within three shots of Jacksonville State going into Saturday’s final round with a solid 9-over 293 in Friday’s second round. Chattanooga struggled in the final round with a 301.

   Lintunen added a 2-under 69 to his opening-round 70 in Friday’s second round and trailed Georgia State’s Josh Edgar, a graduate student from Australia, by four shots going into Saturday’s final round. Edgar struggled to a final-round 82 to end up in a tie for 10^th place, but Lintunen matched par in the final round with a 72 to capture the individual title by three shots with a 2-under 211 total. Lintunen was the only player to finish under par for the tournament.

   Western Kentucky and Connecticut, the Huskies undoubtedly happy to be back in the Big East for golf instead of a tough American Athletic Conference, carded matching 297s in Saturday’s final round to finish in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

   The Hilltoppers had matched par in the opening round with a 284 and added a 299 in Friday’s second. Their final-round 297 left them with a 28-over 880 total, a shot behind Chattanooga. The Huskies opened with a 4-over 288 and added a 296 in Friday’s second round. Their final-round 297 gave them a 29-over 881 and left them a shot behind Western Kentucky.

   Western Carolina was in the hunt for two days, the Catamounts opening with a 6-under 278 before matching Jacksonville State’s second-round 288 that left them just a shot behind the Gamecocks. Western Carolina struggled to a final-round 307 that left it in a three-way tie for sixth place with Wright State and Kennesaw State at 31-over 883, two shots behind UConn.

   Kennesaw State had grabbed the lead with an opening round of 9-under 275, but the Sea Palms Resort Course got the better of the Owls after that as they signed for a 303 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 305. Wright State opened with a 4-over 288 and added a 7-over 291 in Friday’s second round before finishing up with a 304 that landed it in the tie for sixth place with Western Carolina and Kennesaw State.

   Drexel opened with a decent 13-over 297 before struggling to a 304 in Friday’s second round and a 306 in Saturday’s final round that gave the Dragons a 55-over 907 total. But you have to remember, it was their first tournament of the season in the first week of March, a season that should have begun in September.

   Leading the way for Jacksonville State was Quim Vidal Mora, a junior from Spain who finished in a tie for third place with Longwood’s Christian Michael, a sophomore from Crimora, Va., and Chattanooga’s Connor Nolan, a junior from Corona, Calif. who was competing as an individual, all three landing on 2-over 215.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Vidal Mora matched the low round of the day in Friday’s second round with a 3-under 68 before closing with a 4-over 75.

   Jesus Dario Montenegro, a senior from Argentina, gave Jacksonville State a second finisher in the top 10 as he ended up in a tie for 10^th place with Georgia State’s Edgar at 4-over 217. Dario Montenegro contributed a 3-under 68 to the Gamecocks’ fast start in the opening round. He cooled off with a 3-over 74 in Friday’s second round before finishing up with a 75.

   Another Argentinian for Jacksonville State, junior Maximo Portais backed up the top two for the Gamecocks as he landed among the group tied for 15^th place at 6-over 219. Portais opened with a solid 2-under 69, but struggled in Friday’s second round with a 78 before matching par in the final round with a 72, a crucial counter that helped Jacksonville State secure the team crown.

   Jackson Singletary, a junior from Alabaster, Ala., matched the 3-under 68 his teammate Dario Montenegro registered in the opening round, but struggled to an 81 in Friday’s second round before bouncing back with a 2-over 73 in the final round, another crucial counter for the Gamecocks, as he finished in the group tied for 26^th place at 9-over 222.

   Rounding out the Jacksonville State lineup was a third member of its Argentinian connection, junior Juan Pablo Francarillo finished in a tie for 62^nd place at 233, although he picked up Singletary in Friday’s second round with a counting 78.

   Runnerup honors in the individual chase went to Appalachian State’s Dylan Lukes, a fifth-year player from Chapel Hill, N.C. who finished three shots behind Chattanooga’s Lintunen with a 1-over 214 total. Lukes opened with a 3-under 68 before adding a pair of 2-over 73s.

   Longwood’s Michael and Chattanooga’s Nolen were in lockstep the whole tournament, each adding a pair of 1-over 72s to an opening round of even-par 71 as they joined Jacksonville State’s Vidal Mora in the trio tied for third place at 2-over 215. Nolen might have earned himself a promotion to the first five the next time the Mocs tee it up with his performance.

   Paul Conroy, a freshman from Ireland, gave Chattanooga a third player among the top six as he shared sixth place with Western Kentucky’s Lonnery Meyer, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., Western Carolina’s Tomi Kuld, a junior from Iceland, and Wright State’s Austin Schoonmaker, a senior from Springboro, Ohio.

   Conroy matched the low round of the tournament when he opened with a sizzling 5-under 66 before cooling off with a 3-over 74 in Friday’s second round and closing with a 76. Meyer was steady throughout, opening with a 1-over 72, matching par in Friday’s second round with a 71 and adding a final-round 73.

   Kuld started fast with a 3-under 68 and added a 73 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 75. Schoonmaker was in the hunt for the individual title as he matched par in Friday’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 67 and trailed Edgar by three shots going into Saturday’s final round. Schoonmaker finished up with a 78 to fall back into the tie for sixth place.

   Edgar also matched the low round of the tournament with his opening round of 5-under 66 and got it to 7-under for the tournament with a 2-under 69 in Friday’s second round. He stumbled with that final-round 82, but still grabbed a share of 10^th place with Jacksonville State’s Dario Montenegro at 4-over 217.

   Leading the way for Drexel was Angelo Giantsopoulos, the Dragons’ veteran senior from Canada who finished among the group tied for 20^th place at 8-over 221. Giantsopoulos struggled a little in the opening round with a 5-over 76, but with the golf course and the conditions getting tougher, he responded with a 1-over 72 in Friday’s second round before finishing up with a 73.

   Senior Stephen Cerbara, the 2015 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Holy Ghost Prep, added a 4-over 75 to the back-to-back 76s he registered in the first two rounds to finish in a tie for 47^th place at 227.

   Connor Schmidt, the Peters Township product who won the 2018 Pennsylvania Amateur title at Johnstown’s Sunnehanna Country Club, took up the NCAA on its offer of an extra year of eligibility to make up for the senior spring that the pandemic snatched away. There are a a lot of five-year undergraduate programs at Drexel, so that might have made the decision to play another season of golf a no-brainer.

   Schmidt got off to a great start at Sea Palms, carding a 1-under 70 in the opening round. He fell back with an 80 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 79 to land in a tie for 51^st place at 229. Jeffrey Cunningham, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., finished alone in 67^th place at 234. Cunningham sandwiched a 5-over 76 in Friday’s second round with a pair of 79s.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was Bank Apinyawuttikul, a freshman from Thailand who finished among the group tied for 68^th place at 236. Apinyawuttikul had a nice start in his college debut with a 4-over 75 that was a counter for the Dragons, but he struggled to an 81 in Friday’s second round before closing with an 80.

   I missed Temple’s return to competition as Brian Quinn’s Owls finished last of 16 teams in the Pinnacle Beach Intercollegiate a couple of weeks ago at the Palmetto Hall Golf & Country Club’s Arthur Hill Course on Hilton Head Island, S.C. Temple is back in action beginning Monday in the Palmetto Intercollegiate at the Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. and I’ll try to catch up with them when the tournament is over. Lot of familiar local names on the Temple roster.

   Drexel will also get right back in action Monday in the Don Benbow Invitational at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club in Jacksonville, Fla. and I’m hoping to check in on the Dragons as well.