Tough spring opener for Temple as USC Aiken captures team crown at Wexford Intercollegiate

   It’s never easy for teams in the northern tier to shake off the rust and come out firing when they open the spring portion of the wraparound college season with a trip to warmer climes.

   Having said that, I suspect Temple head coach Brian Quinn left Hilton Head Island, S.C. a little disappointed after the Owls finished in a tie for 17^th place with Presbyterian in the 18-team field that gathered for the Wexford Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Monday at the Wexford Plantation’s signature Arnold Palmer Course.

   A lot of the teams in the Wexford, hosted by Francis Marion, are from places where they can get out and play a lot more than a team from Philadelphia can. We’ve had a fairly mild winter in southeastern Pennsylvania, but even though the Carolinas aren’t all that far away, they can keep their golf courses in a little more playable condition than is possible here.

   Temple always seems to be at its best in the fall when guys have been playing competitive golf all summer and the college season is just an extension of the prime playing days of the year.

   Temple opened the spring portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season at the Wexford Intercollegiate with an eighth-place finish. It was not as good a start a year later.

   The goal at Temple is simple: Get as high a finish in the tough American Athletic Conference Championship as possible. Last spring the Owls finished eighth at the Southern Hills Plantation Course in Brooksville, Fla. This spring’s AAC Championship will be held from April 21 to 23 at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.

   There’s work to do for the Owls between now and then.

   Temple got off to a tough start with a 24-over-par 312 over the 6,913, par-72 Wexford Plantation layout in the first round of a double round Monday. The Owls were much better in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 7-over 295, but couldn’t build on their momentum as they closed with a 319 in Tuesday’s final round for a 62-over 926 total.

   The scores were generally pretty high for the entire field in Tuesday’s final round, which probably means the wind was blowing on Hilton Head Island. You have to start the spring sometime and Temple can learn its lessons from Wexford and keep moving on toward the AAC Championship.

   Graham Chase, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., was Temple’s top finisher as he finished among the group tied for 24^th place with an 8-over 224 total.

   Chase, coming off a strong fall during which he posted three top-10 finishes, continued his solid play as he carded a pair of 2-over 74s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 76.

   The Wexford Intercollegiate team crown went to Division II South Carolina Aiken with a lineup that included sophomore Karl Frisk, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Spring Grove.

   After opening with a 5-over 293, the Pacers added a solid 1-over 289 in Monday afternoon’s second round that left them five shots behind tournament host Francis Marion going into Tuesday’s final round.

   South Carolina Aiken closed with a 9-over 297 in Tuesday’s tough conditions and pulled out a five-shot victory over Dayton, out of the Atlantic 10, with a 15-over 829 total.

   Dayton carded its second straight 7-over 295 in Tuesday’s final round after opening with a 294 as the Flyers finished in second place with a 20-over 884 total.

   USC Aiken was led by Leo Bono, a senior from Switzerland who closed with a 2-under 70 that earned him a share of second place in the individual standings with a 2-under 214 total, two shots behind individual champion Grant Sellers, a fifth-year player at Francis Marion from McBee, S.C.

   Bono had opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Defending champion Francis Marion, a Southland Conference representative, fell back into a tie for third place with Patriot League entry Richmond, as the Patriots struggled to a final round of 17-over 305 to end up with a 22-over 886 total, two shots behind Dayton.

   Francis Marion had opened with a 9-over 297, but, behind Sellers’ sparkling 5-under 67, the Patriots surged to the lead with a 4-under 284 in Monday afternoon’s second round, matching the low team round of the tournament.

   Sellers had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and took control of the individual chase with his 67 in Monday afternoon’s second round. He closed with a solid 1-over 73 to claim the individual crown with a 4-under 212 total for his first career victory.

   Richmond had the lead after opening with a solid 2-under 286, but the Spiders carded back-to-back 12-over 300s in the final two rounds to join Francis Marion in the tie for third place at 886.

   Richmond was led by Cole Ekert, a sophomore from Chatham, N.C. who got a share of runnerup honors along with USC Aiken’s Bono with a 2-under 214 total. Ekert opened with a 4-under 68, one of only a handful of sub-70 rounds recorded in Monday morning’s first round. He added a 2-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Samford, another Southland Conference entry, finished a shot behind Francis Marion and Richmond in fifth place with an 887 total. After opening with a solid 3-over 291, the Bulldogs added a 299 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 8-over 297.

   East Carolina, one of Temple’s AAC rivals, matched the best team round of the tournament with its final round of 284 as the Pirates climbed the leaderboard to finish in sixth place, four shots behind Samford with a 27-over 891 total. East Carolina had opened with an 11-over 299 before adding a 308 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Backing up Bono for USC Aiken was Erik Olin, a sophomore from Sweden who finished among the group of six players tied for eighth place at 3-over 219. Olin sandwiched a solid 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 3-over 75s.

   Jonah Winter gave USC Aiken a third player inside the top 20 as he finished in the group tied for 18^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Winter recorded a pair of 2-over 74s in Monday’s double round and closed with a solid 1-over 73.

   Oscar Abrahamsson, a junior from Sweden, matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 2-over 74 before struggling a little in the final round with an 80 as he landed in the group tied for 28^th place with a 10-over 226 total for the Pacers.

   Frisk, the Spring Grove product, rounded out the USC Aiken lineup as he finished in a tie for 64^th place with a 234 total. Frisk opened with a 3-over 75 and struggled a little with an 80 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a counting 79 for the Pacers.

   Only individual champion Sellers and co-runnersup Bono and Ekert finished under par for the tournament.

   Mercer’s Tobias Jonsson finished two shots behind Bono and Ekert in fourth place in the individual standings with an even-par 216 total. Jonsson was only a shot behind Sellers following Monday’s double round as he opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon. Jonsson backed off with a final round of 4-over 76.

   Drew Carlin, a freshman from Ashburn, Va., gave Richmond a second finisher in the top five as he landed in a tie for fifth place with Samford’s Andrew Sullivan, a senior from Louisville, Ky., and Radford’s Bryce Corbett, a junior from Gainesville, Va., each ending up with a 2-over 218 total, two shots behind Jonsson.

   Carlin matched par in both tours of the Wexford Plantation layout in Monday’s double round with a pair of 72s before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Sullivan sandwiched a 4-over 76 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Corbett carded a pair of 1-over 73s in the final two rounds.

   Backing up Chase for Temple were senior Conor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product, and sophomore Joey Morganti, a Havertown resident who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep, both of whom were among the group tied for 51^st place at 15-over 231.

   McGrath, winner of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur in 2021 at Cedarbrook Country Club, has been Temple’s best player for the last couple seasons. After opening with a 6-over 78 at Wexford Plantation, McGrath matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 72 before struggling in Tuesday’s final round with an 81.

   Morganti, a product of the junior program at Llanerch Country Club, opened with a solid 3-over 75 and added a 77 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 79.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup were Ethan Whitney, a sophomore from Westminster, Mass., and Andres Aranguren, a redshirt sophomore from San Juan, Puerto Rico, both of whom ended up tied for 86^th place at 244.

   Whitney rebounded from an opening-round 85 with a 4-over 76 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with an 83. Like Whitney, Aranguren struggled in the first and final rounds, opening with an 86 and closing with an 85, but put together a solid 1-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round.