FLORIDA SOUTHERN CLAIMS MEN’S GOLF NATIONAL TITLE
Entering the day one stroke out of first, the Florida Southern Moccasins took control to take a seven-stroke victory on Friday at the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship. The title is the 12th in program history and the third won by an SSC school in a week. Barry turned in the low score of the final round (297) to finish fifth in the standings. Nova Southeastern placed sixth, and Lynn was ninth. The event was conducted at the Sagamore Golf Club in Noblesville, Ind. For a round-by-round recap of all postseason golf, read below.
DII Championship Live Scoring
REGIONAL ROUND ONE RECAP (MAY 3): Barry shot an opening-round 283 to conclude day one of the NCAA Men's Golf South/Southeast Super Regionals one stroke behind leader Lander. In addition to the second-place Bucs, SSC teams claim the remaining three slots in the top five.
Nova Southeastern carded a 285 to take third place after one round. Saint Leo had a solid showing with a 285 to place fourth. Lynn rounded out the top five with a 289.
Florida Southern is tied for eighth after turning in a 292 on Monday. Rollins is tied for 14th with a score of 295.
Individually, Valdosta State's Chesley Gunn fired a 67 to take the top spot in the standings. NSU's Bobby Bode (69) and Saint Leo's Mark McGuire (69) sit two strokes back in a tie for fourth. Invited to compete for the individual title, Florida Tech's Zach Potter is tied for 48th with a 74.
Play resumes on Tuesday in Wilson, N.C.
REGIONAL ROUND TWO RECAP (MAY 4): A mere three stokes separates four SSC teams cluttered atop the leaderboard at the NCAA DII Men's Golf South/Southeast Super Regional. With just one round of play remaining, Lynn and Barry are tied for first with a 564. The Fighting Knighs (289-275=564) shaved 14 strokes off of Monday's first-round total to climb from fifth into the tie for first. The Buccaneers (283-281=564) turned in a day two tally of 281.
Sitting just one stroke back in third place is Nova Southeastern. The Sharks (285-280=565) held steady in the third slot after shooting a 280 on Tuesday. Florida Southern charged four slots up the standings to fourth place compliments of a whopping 17-stroke improvement in the second round. FSC (292-275=567) shot a 275 on Tuesday en route to a spot in the top-five.
Despite trimming two strokes off its first-round score, Saint Leo's second-round 286 dropped the Lions (288-286=574) two places into sixth. Rollins (295-286=581) also tallied a 286 to climb one position into 13th.
In the individual standings, Nova Southeastern's Bobby Bode is tied for first with a two-day total of 137. Bode (69-68=137) tallied a three-under par 68 on Tuesday. Lynn's Devin Kay sits just one stroke behind co-leaders Bode and Barton's Daniel Claytor. Kay (72-66=138) fired an impressive five-under 66 on day two. Saint Leo's JP Albuquerque (71-67=138) and NSU's Ben Vertz (71-67=138) are also knotted with Kay in a five-way tie for third. Florida Southern's Jude Eustaquio (71-68=139) and Lynn's Marcus Williams (72-67=139) are one stroke behind Kay with a 139, which ties them for seventh.
A slew of SSC golfers are tied for ninth with a two-round score of 140. Barry's Chris Carlin and Daniel Stapff, Rollins' Colin Dolph, and Florida Tech's Zach Potter are part of the six man logjam.
The regional will conclude with 18 holes on Wednesday.
REGIONAL FINAL ROUND RECAP (MAY 5): SSC rivals Barry and Lynn battled atop the leaderboard, and ultimately, the top-ranked Buccaneers pulled out a one-stroke victory on Wednesday at the NCAA DII Men's Golf South/Southeast Super Regional. The Bucs (283-281-281=845) replicated their second-round score of 281 in the final round to finish the tournament with a score of 845. Lynn (289-275-282=846) tallied a final day 282 to post a score of 846.
Two other SSC teams also punched tickets to the NCAA Championship May 18-21 in Noblesville, Ind., by virtue of a top-five finish. Florida Southern (292-275-287=854) concluded the regional with a 287 to lock up third place with a score of 854. Nova Southeastern's 293 landed the Sharks (285-280-293=858) in fourth place with a final tally of 858.
Saint Leo (288-286-293=867) finished seventh with an 867, while Rollins (295-286-292=873) tied for 10th with an 873.
Queen's University's Ben Lasso took medalist honors with a final score of 205. Finishing three strokes back and tying for second were Barry's Carlos Velez (70-71-67=208) and Saint Leo's JP Albuquerque (71-67-70=208). One stroke behind and tying for fifth with a final score of 209 were NSU's Bobby Bode, Barry's Chris Carlin, and Lynn's Marcus Williams. Since the top two individuals not competing on one of the five advancing teams qualifies for the NCAA Championship, Albuquerque will continue his season in search of the DII individual championship.
Competing individually in the regional, Florida Tech's Zach Potter (74-66-76=216) concluded his collegiate career tied for 25th with a final tally of 216.
NCAA ROUND ONE RECAP (MAY 18): Nova Southeastern got off to a good start at the DII Men's Golf Championship, firing a first-round score of 299 to take the early lead. The Sharks hold a four-stroke cushion over second-place Florida Southern, which carded a 303. Lynn is tied for ninth with a score of 313. Just one stroke behind the Fighting Knights, Barry is tied for 11th with a 314.
NSU's Ben Vertz sits atop the individual standings after 18 holes. Vertz was the only player to shoot an even-par 72 on Tuesday. Lynn's Patricio Salem sits in a four-way tie for 2nd with a one-over 73. Barry's Victor Billskoog and Florida Southern's Shelton Smith are tangled in a six player logjam for sixth place, having recorded a two-over 74.
Competing as an individual, Saint Leo's JP Albuquerque is tied for 30th. He sits five strokes behind the leader with a five-over-par 75.
Round two will tee off at 7:30 am on Wednesday.
NCAA ROUND TWO RECAP (MAY 19): Florida Southern carded a second-day 292 to take a nine-stroke lead in Wednesday's second-round action at the NCAA DII Men's Golf Championship. The Moccasins' (303-292=595) two-day tally is 595. Nova Southeastern (299-305=604) and Sonoma State (313-291=604) are tied for second with a score of 604. The Sharks carded a 305 on Wednesday, while Sonoma State was the only team to better the Mocs' round, shooting a 291. Chico State sits just one stroke behind NSU and Sonoma with a 605. Western New Mexico rounds out the top five with a total of 608.
SSC foes Lynn (313-305=618) and Barry (314-304=618) are tied for 12th in the standings with a score of 618.
In the individual standings, Queens University's Ben Lasso (73-70=143) took over the top slot with a two-under-par 70. FSC's Matt Stauch (76-71=147) sits four strokes behind Lasso in a tie for fourth with a score of 147. Stauch's teammate Shelton Smith (74-74=148) is also in the top 10, tied for sixth with a 148. Nova Southeastern's Bobby Bode (76-73=149) is tied for 10th with a 149.
Barry's Carlos Velez (77-73=150) and Lynn's Patricio Salem (73-77=150) are part of a seven-golfer tie for 12th. Saint Leo's J.P. Albuquerque (77-75=152) is tied for 23rd with a score of 152.
Players tee off in round three action at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday.
NCAA ROUND THREE RECAP (MAY 20): Florida Southern added 12 strokes to its third-round tally but still remains squarely in the hunt with just one round remaining at the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship. The Moccains' (303-292-304=899) three-round total of 899 is one stroke shy of leader Chico State (307-298-293=898). Sonoma State sits eight strokes behind the leader with a 907, while Central Missouri is fourth with a score of 909. Western New Mexico occupies the fifth slot with a total tally of 910.
For the first time since Tuesday's opening round, Nova Southeastern slipped out of the top five. The Sharks (299-305-309=313) are in sixth place, 15 strokes off the lead. Barry (314-304-303=921) moved up five spots to seventh with a 921. Lynn (313-305-311=929) edged one slot higher into 11th with a 929.
Abiliene Christian's Cyril Bouniol became the third different individual leader. Bouniol currently carries a one-under-par 215 with one round remaining. FSC's Matt Stauch, NSU's Bobby Bode, and Barry's Carlos Velez are the only SSC golfers in the top ten. Bode (76-73-70=219) is tied for third with a three-over 219. Stauch (76-71-75=222) is fifth with a six-over 222. Velez (77-73-75=225) is tied for 10th with a tally of 225.
Patricio Salem and Marcus Williams are Lynn's top golfers. The teammates are tied for 28th with a score of 229. Saint Leo's JP Albuquerque moved up the standings for the third straight round, posting a total tally of 226 to tie for 14th with one round remaining.
Play in Friday's final round will tee off at 8 a.m.
NCAA FINAL ROUND RECAP (MAY 21): Florida Southern entered Friday's final round needing just one stroke to catch then-leader Chico State. The Moccasins added eight for good measure and posted a seven-stroke win over Central Missouri to win the program's 12th NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship.
FSC (303-292-304-307=1206) finished the tournament with a score of 1206. Central Missouri ended up in the runner-up position after entering the final day in fourth. The Mules finished with a tally of 1213 thanks to a strong final round of 304, which was bettered only by Barry's 297. Chico State finished one stroke behind Central Missouri with a 1214. Sonoma State placed fourth with a 1216. Barry (314-304-303-297=1218) climbed two more spots in the final round to finish in the top five with a mark of 1218.
Nova Southeastern (299-305-309-313=1226) registered a sixth-place finish with a four-round score of 1226. Lynn (313-305-311-306=1235) placed ninth with a tally of 1235.
Abilene Christian's Cyril Bouniol (76-68-71-70=285) took the individual title with a three-under 285. He was the only player in the competiton to finish under par. Central Missouri's Justin Yoder was second with a three-over 291. Matt Stauch (76-71-75-71=293) led the champion Moccasins, finishing third with a five-over-par 293. Lynn's Marcus Williams (79-77-73-68=297) scorched the final round with a four-under 68 to rocket from a tie for 28th to fifth with a final score of 297. Nova Southeastern's Bobby Bode (76-73-70-79=298) tied for sixth with a 298. Southern's Shelton Smith (74-74-77-74=299) and Barry's Victor Billskoog (74-78-76-71=299) tied for eighth with a 299. Barry's Carlos Velez (77-73-75-76=301) also notched a top-10 finish, tying for 10th with a 301.
Competing individually, Saint Leo's JP Albuquerque (77-75-74-80=306) concluded the championship with a score of 306.