Delaware opens season by finishing in a tie for fourth in Golfweek Fall Challenge

    Delaware and Temple opened their 2022-2023 seasons in last week’s Golfweek Fall Challenge, which wrapped up Tuesday at the True Blue Golf Club at Pawleys Island, S.C. with the Blue Hens finishing a tie for fourth place and the Owls a little bit of a disappointing ninth.

   Jacksonville State, a Conference USA representative, outlasted Wright State, a Horizon League entry, by two shots to capture the team crown with a 28-under-par total of 836 over the 6,921-yard, par-72 True Blue layout.

   The Gamecocks had three players finish inside the top seven in the individual standings, led by Ryley Heath, a sophomore from Decatur, Ala., who finished in a tie for third place with an 11-under 205 total.

   Heath, a junior college transfer making his debut for Jacksonville State, added a sparkling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round to an opening round of 4-under 68 that left him just a shot off the blistering pace set by eventual individual champion Trey Crenshaw, a sophomore at Coastal Carolina from Lancaster, S.C. who was competing as an individual. Heath closed with a 1-under 71 that left him seven shots behind Crenshaw.

   After opening with a 5-under 283, Jacksonville State carded a sparkling 13-under 275 in Monday’s second round before the Gamecocks finished up with a 10-under 278.

   Wright State, behind individual runnerup Tyler Goecke, a senior from Xenia, Ohio, matched Jacksonville State’s opening round of 5-under 283 and added an 8-under 280 to fall five shots behind the Gamecocks. The Raiders came on strong in the final round with a 13-under 275 for a 26-under 838 total that left them two shots behind Jacksonville State.

   After opening with a 1-under 71, Goecke posted a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round before contributing a scintillating 8-under 64 to the Raiders’ strong finish as he ended up with a 13-under 203 total that left him five shots behind Crenshaw in second place.

   Big South Conference representative Presbyterian finished another six shots behind Wright State in third place with a 20-under 844 total. The Blue Hose grabbed the lead with an opening round of 10-under 278, fell two shots behind Jacksonville State despite a solid 6-under 282 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 4-under 284 total.

   Delaware, behind a tie for fifth place by Sparky Ariyachatvakin, a junior from Thailand, got a share of fourth place with Southern Conference entry Samford, each landing on 8-under 856, 12 shots behind Presbyterian.

   The Blue Hens, who finished in fifth place in last spring’s Colonial Athletic Association Championship at the Dataw Island Club’s Cotton Dike Course on Hilton Head Island, S.C., struggled in Monday’s second round at True Blue with a 294, but recorded solid 7-under 281s in the opening round and in the final round.

   The Bulldogs were in the hunt for the team crown after adding a 10-under 278 to their opening round of 3-under 285, but fell back with a 5-over 293 in the final round.

   Temple, an American Athletic Conference entry, finished in ninth place in the 13-team field with a 3-under 861 total. The Owls struggled to a 3-over 291 in the opening round, but played better in the last two rounds, posting a 5-under 283 in Monday’s second round and a 1-under 287 in the final round.

   Backing up Heath for Jacksonville State were Ross Napier, a senior from Huntsville, Ala., and Erick Jonsson, a junior from Sweden, both of whom finished in a tie for seventh place at 7-under 209.

   After adding a 71 in Monday’s second round to his opening round of 2-under 70, Napier contributed a 4-under 68 in the final round to help the Gamecocks hold on for the team win. Jonsson added a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round to his opening round of 2-under 70 before finishing up with a 71.

   Gabriel Restrepo, a junior from Venezuela, closed with a solid 4-under 68 for Jacksonville State to finish among the group tied for 25^th place with a 2-under 214 total. After struggling in the opening round with a 76, Restrepo bounced back with a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round.

   Rounding out the Jacksonville State lineup was David Melichar, a sophomore from the Czech Republic who finished in a tie for 62^nd place with an 11-over 227 total. Melichar added a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 75 before finishing up with a 78.

   With its proximity to Pawleys Island, Coastal Carolina sent a couple of players to True Blue to compete as individuals and Crenshaw took the opportunity to run away with the individual title.

   Crenshaw opened with a sparkling 7-under 65, kept up the pace with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round and closed with a bookend 65 for an 18-under 198 total.

   Tennessee Tech’s Jackson Skeen, a sophomore from Jonesborough, Tenn., shared third place with Jacksonville State’s Heath as Skeen closed with a sparkling 6-under 66 to join Heath at 11-under 205. Skeen opened with a 71 and added a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round.

   Delaware’s Ariyachatvkin put together back-to-back 4-under 68s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 72 to get a share of fifth place at 8-under 208.

   Ariyachatvkin was joined at 8-under by Southern Indiana’s Zach Williams, a senior from Mt. Vernon, Ill. who matched Crenshaw’s opening round of 7-under 65, struggled a little in Monday’s second round with a 74, but bounced back with a 3-under 69 in the final round.

   Backing up Ariyachatvkin for Delaware was Owen Manchester, a junior from Irvine, Calif. who finished among the group tied for 31^st place with an even-par 216 total. After opening with a solid 2-under 70, Manchester stumbled in Monday’s second round with a 78 before finishing strong with a 4-under 68 in the final round.

   Hugo Kedzlie, a senior from England, also closed with a solid 4-under 68 for the Blue Hens as he ended up in the group tied for 34^th place with a 2-over 218 total. Kedzlie opened with a 1-under 71, but struggled in the second round with a 79.

   Casper Nerpin, a freshman from Sweden, finished in a tie for 50^th place with a 5-over 221 total in his debut for Delaware. After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Nerpin added a 76 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Xiong Da, a sophomore from Murrieta, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 56^th place with a 224 total. Da matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 and finished up with a 77.

   Egor Zubov, a sophomore from Israel, competed at True Blue as an individual and finished among the group tied for 47^th place with a 4-over 220 total. After recording back-to-back 3-over 75s in the first two rounds, Zubov closed with a solid 2-under 70.

   Temple was led by senior Conor McGrath, the 2021 BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion who finished in the group tied for 12^th place with a 5-under 211 total.

   McGrath, a product of the junior program at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, didn’t have quite as strong a summer this year as he did a year ago, but still qualified for the U.S. Amateur for the second straight year. After opening with a 4-under 68 at True Blue, McGrath added a solid 70 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Ethan Whitney, a sophomore from Westminster, Mass., gave head coach Brian Quinn’s Owls a second finisher inside the top 20 as he ended up among the group tied for 19^th place with a 3-under 213 total. After struggling to a 2-over 74 in the opening round, Whitney posted a solid 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Graham Chase, a senior from Charlotte, N.C. and a Temple co-captain along with McGrath, finished among the group tied for 31^st place with an even-par 216 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Chase carded back-to-back 1-under 71s.

   Jake Naese, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., closed with a solid 1-under 71 to finish in the group tied for 62^nd place with a 227 total. Naese struggled in the first two rounds, adding a 79 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 77.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was sophomore Joey Morganti, a former St. Joseph’s Prep standout from Havertown who finished in the group tied for 69^th place with a 229 total. A product of the junior program at Llanerch Country Club, Morganti posted back-to-back 3-over 75s in the first two rounds before closing with a 79.

   Junior Andrew Curran, the 2018 Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual champion as a senior at Malvern Prep, competed as an individual for Temple at True Blue and finished among the group tied for 56^th place with a 224 total. Curran sandwiched a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 75s.

   Freshman Darren Nolan, who starred scholastically at La Salle, made his Temple debut as an individual competitor and finished alone in 59^th place with a 225 total. After opening with a 75, Nolan added a 77 in Monday’s second round before closing with his best round of the tournament, a 1-over 73.

   Another Coastal Carolina entry who made the trip to True Blue to compete as an individual was senior Connor Bennink, who helped Unionville capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown in 2017. Bennink came back as a senior in 2018 and finished in a tie for sixth in the individual chase at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort and led the Longhorns to a runnerup finish in the PIAA Class AAA team chase.

   Bennink was one of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s top players at Gannon before transferring to Coastal Carolina. He finished in the group tied for 47^th place with a 4-over 220 total as he sandwiched a 74 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 1-over 73s.