McGrath leads the way as Temple opens spring campaign by finishing eighth in Wexford Intercollegiate

    Temple opened the spring portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season with an eighth-place finish in the Wexford Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Wexford Plantation’s Arnold Palmer Signature Course on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

   Head coach Brian Quinn’s Owls were led by junior Connor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product and winner of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship last summer at Cedarbrook Country Club.

   McGrath, who plays out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, finished in a tie for 13^th place at 2-over 218 over the 6,913-yard, par-72 Wexford Plantation layout. He matched par with a 72 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round after opening with a 75. McGrath closed with his best round of the tournament, a 1-under 71, in Tuesday’s final round.

   Temple, which plays out of the American Athletic Conference, opened with an 8-over 296 and added an 11-over 299 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with its best round of the tournament, a 4-over 292 for a 23-over 887 total.

   Host Francis Marion rallied in the final round with a 5-under 283 to overtake Mercer and Furman and claim the team crown with a 2-over 866 total. The Patriots, playing out of the Southland Conference, had opened with a 1-over 289 before adding a 6-over 294 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Not all the teams completed Monday’s double round and eight of the 17 teams in the field had to return to finish the second round Tuesday morning before the final round started.

   Furman, at No. 93, the only team in the field in the top 100 in the Golfstat rankings, finished a shot behind Francis Marion in second place with a 3-over 867 total. The Paladins, a Southern Conference entry, trailed Mercer by four shots going into the final round as they added a solid 4-under 284 in Monday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 295.

   Furman matched par in the final round with a 288 to come up just short of Francis Marion.

   Augusta, another Southland Conference entry, closed with a solid 3-under 285 to finish in third place with a 6-over 870 total. The Jaguars added a 293 in the second round to the 4-over 292 they opened with in Monday’s first round.

   East Carolina, an AAC rival of Temple’s, and Mercer, another SoCon entry, were a shot behind Augusta in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 7-over 871.

   The Pirates started slowly with an 8-over 296 and added a 1-under 287 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   The Bears, who got a respective 1-2 finish in the individual standings from Tobias Jonsson, a sophomore from Sweden, and Martin Plukka, a senior from Finland, held the lead going into the final round after adding a 5-under 283 to their opening-round 292. Mercer struggled a little in the final round, closing with a 9-over 297.

   Jonsson captured the individual title as he carded back-to-back 71s in the first two rounds before closing with a 2-under 70 for a 4-under 212 total. His teammate, Plukka, rattled off three straight 1-under 71s to earn runnerup honors with a 3-under 213 total, a shot behind his teammate.

   South Carolina Aiken, a Division II program, was three shots behind East Carolina and Mercer in sixth place with a 10-over 874 total. After opening with a 298, the Pacers added a 293 in the second round before finishing strong with a 5-under 283.

   Big South representative Radford finished seven shots behind South Carolina Aiken in seventh place with a 17-over 881 total. The Highlanders shaved seven shots off their opening-round 302 with a 295 in the second round before finishing up with a solid 4-under 284. It was another six shots back to Temple in eighth place in the 17-team field.

   Leading the way for Francis Marion was Mitchell Vance, a junior from Hartsville who finished a shot behind Mercer’s Plukka among the trio tied from third place with a 2-under 214 total. Vance added a 74 in the second round to his 1-under 71 in the opening round before sparking the final-round surge by Francis Marion with a 3-under 69.

   Backing up Vance for the Patriots was McClure Thompson, a senior from Little River, S.C. who finished among the group tied for 15^th place with a 3-over 219 total. Thompson added a 74 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par with a 72 in the final round.

   Rounding out the Patriots’ lineup were three players – Casper Kennedy, a junior from Norway, Grant Sellers, a senior from McBee, S.C., and Michael Rials, a fifth-year player from Florence, S.C. – all of whom landed among the group tied for 21^st place at 4-over 220.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Kennedy posted a solid 1-under 71 in the second round before falling back in the final round with a 77. Sellers added a 75 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72. Rials registered back-to-back 75s in the first two rounds before contributing a 2-under 70 to Francis Marion’s strong finish.

   A pair of East Carolina players – Stephen Carroll, a graduate student from Concord, N.C., and Tyler DeChellis, a freshman from Clayton, N.C. – joined Francis Marion’s Vance in the tie for third place at 2-under 214. After opening with a 73, Carroll posted a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 70. DeChellis added a 1-under 71 after opening with a 2-under 70 before finishing up with a 73.

   Eastern Michigan’s Ty Celone, a senior from Canada, finished alone in sixth place with a 1-under 215 as he added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Three more players – Presbyterian’s Jimmy McCollum, a junior from Greer, S.C., South Carolina Aiken’s Leo Bono, a junior from Switzerland, and Furman’s Jack Crosby, a senior from Memphis, Tenn. – finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up at even-par 216.

   McCollum got a little better in each round, matching par with a 72 in the second round after opening with a 74 before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Bono matched par the opening round with a 72, added a 73 in the second round and finished up with a 1-under 71. Crosby was the picture of consistency, rattling off three straight even-par 72s.

   Backing up McGrath for Temple was junior Buddy Hansen, a scholastic standout at La Salle who sandwiched a 76 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s to finish among the group tied for 31^st place at 6-over 222.

   Graham Chase, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., sandwiched a 77 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s to finish in the group tied for 37^th place at 7-over 223.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup were senior Dawson Anders, a Souderton product and the 2017 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship winner, and Ethan Whitney, a freshman from Westminster, Mass., both of whom were part of a trio of players tied for 57^th place at 12-over 228.

   After opening with a 78, Anders added a pair of 3-over 75s. Whitney added a 76 to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 77.

   All five players on Hilton Head Island were in the Temple lineup when it closed out the fall portion of the 2021-’22 season in the City 6 Championship at Llanerch Country Club. Teams in the City 6 Championship had six-man lineups and the sixth for the Owls was a product of the Llanerch junior program, freshman Joey Morganti, who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep.