The Hillsdale College men's golf team tied for the low round score of the tournament in their second round on Monday to claim a fourth place finish as a team at their hosted invite, the Bell Collegiate, at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
The Chargers carded a 288 that included three players shooting par or better for 18 holes to overcome a tough opening round, then held on in the final round on Tuesday to take fourth with a final score of 897. Defending NJCAA National Champion Sandhills Community College won the team title with a score of 878, while Grand Valley St. took second (887) and Ohio Dominican took third (887) in the event.
Freshman Oscar Darlington and junior Gerry Jones Jr. each carded a 54-hole total of 225 to tie for 12th and lead the Chargers. Darlington played his best golf in the second round, shooting a one-under 71, and also carded a 75 that tied for the Chargers' best score in round one. Jones displayed his consistency again for Hillsdale, shooting a 75-72-78 for three rounds to finish even with Darlington at the end of the day, while finishing in the top 5 among all players in the event in scoring on par-4s (+2).
Senior Josh Davenport was close behind, tying for 20th with a score of 227 for Hillsdale, and finished tied for third in the event for most birdies by a player with 11. Davenport used a one-under 71 in the second round to get back into the top 20, while freshman Filippo Reale was 23rd for Hillsdale with a 228, overcoming a round one score of 80 with back-to-back rounds of 74 to end up with a solid finish.
Senior Drew Gandy took 29th, using a final round even-par 72 to finish with a score of 232 as well for Hillsdale.
The Chargers also fielded a second team in the event, and Hillsdale's B squad tied for seventh with a score of 921, beating out several teams' top squads in the 12 team invitational.
Junior Darragh Monaghan had an impressive showing to lead Hillsdale's B-squad, shooting a 226 to finish tied for 16th overall. Monaghan posted an extremely rare albatross on the Par 5 15th hole during his final round on Tuesday, needing just two strokes to complete the hole. That helped Monaghan go 6-under par on par fives for the weekend, one of the top marks in the tournament.
In his second appearance for the Chargers, freshman Charlie Belden shot a 76-79-74-229 to finish tied for 24th as well for Hillsdale, and sophomore Will Verduzco and junior Carson Stohler each shot 233 to finish tied for 32nd as well. Senior Tanner Motske carded a 244 to tie for 51st overall.
Making his debut as a Charger golfer, freshman Chris Desfassiaux played as an individual as well, finishing 57th with a score of 256 for the three rounds.
Coming off a busy Spring Break trip, the Chargers now have some time off to refocus and work on their game before their next invitational. Hillsdale will travel to Kentucky on March 28 to play in the two day Findlay Spring Invite next.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop