Men's Golf | 5/13/2021 6:21:00 PM
WHEELING, W.Va. With just one round remaining in the NCAA 2021 Division III Men's Golf Championship, Methodist has a pair of golfers in the top 10 and the Monarchs are still holding onto second place after Thursday's Day 3 round.
Andre Chi finds himself in a four-way tie for first place at 2-over par and
Cooper Hrabak is tied for sixth at 5 over. Hrabak (75-69-73—217, +5) and
Cameron Cappuzzo (79-76-73—228, +16) carded Methodist's lowest rounds on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Chi (72-65-77—214, 2-over par) joined illustrious company with Methodist Hall of Famer Chad Collins and now Chi is within striking distance of becoming the first national champion in men's golf at MU since Collins in 2001.
The Monarchs (300-281-297—878, 30-over par) are 15 strokes behind first place Illinois Wesleyan University with just 18 holes to go. The Titans (290-286-287—863, +15) are aiming for a wire-to-wire title after leading the pack following the conclusion of each of the previous three rounds.
THE ESSENTIALS
Event: NCAA 2021 Division III Men's Golf Championship
Host: Bethany College
Participants: 18 teams and six individuals; 96 golfers
Location: Oglebay Resort (Speidel Jones Golf Course, par-71, 6857 yards; Palmer Golf Course at Oglebay, par-70, 6621 yards); Wheeling, W. Va.
Top 3 teams: 1 – Illinois Wesleyan (290-286-287—863, +15), 2 – Methodist (300-281-297—878, +30), 3 – Denison (Ohio) University (305-285-290—880, +32)
Top 3 individuals: T-1 –
Andre Chi, Methodist (72-65-77—214, +2), T-1 – Jimmy Morton, Illinois Wesleyan (70-71-73—214, +2), T-1 – Will Hocker, Webster (Mo.) University (69-72-73—214, +2), T-1 – Marc Mitchell, Denison (72-71-71—214, +2)
THE DETAILS
- All 18 teams that made Wednesday's cut played on the Speidel Jones Course Thursday. Methodist started on the first tee with a morning tee time of 10:05 a.m.
- In addition to trying to catch Illinois Wesleyan, Methodist will also look to fend off the advancement of Denison (305-285-290—880, +32), which sits just two strokes behind the Monarchs for second and Guilford College (302-286-295—883, +35) in fourth place.
- Thursday was a story of two halves as the Monarchs saw a four-stroke deficit to the Titans dissolve into 15 strokes over the back nine of the course. After a front nine that featured the four scoring Methodist golfers shooting a 4-over par, the Monarchs closed the back nine with a +9 on the scorecard. In comparison, Illinois Wesleyan went 6-over par through its front nine but 3 under in the back.
- After starting the day with consecutive bogeys, Chi recovered with five consecutive par putts before earning his first birdie on the day at the par-5 8th. After playing the back nine even on Day 1 and going one-under par in Round 2, Chi's back nine Thursday contained three bogeys and a double-bogey, his first of the tournament.
- Hrabak continues his climb up the leaderboard, finishing the day in that sixth-place tie. Hrabak carded a birdie on the opening hole but gave two strokes back to close his front nine with a 1-over par, 37. His birdie on the par-4 13th put him even on the scoreboard before he recorded two bogeys through the last four holes.
- Henry Angier (74-76-74—224, +12) had a topsy-turvy front nine but he sits in a tie for 26th. He had a double-bogey that was followed by a birdie on the par-3 4th. Consecutive birdies on holes 7 and 8 were preceded by consecutive bogeys, giving him a 1-over par 37 for his front nine. He settled in the back nine with seven par putts and two bogeys.
- Cappuzzo jumped 53 spots to being tied at 45th after turning his best round of the tournament. Cappuzzo's Day 3 featured three birdies, the most through three rounds by the sophomore. He gave back only four strokes via bogeys, which is also a tournament-best mark for him.
- Zane Brownrigg (85-71-79—235, +23) had a calm front nine that featured two early bogeys but six consecutive par putts. The back nine was not as kind to the senior as he carded a six-over par, 41.
- As a team, Methodist has performed its best on par-5s (4.9, -5), which is third in the field. Chi has been the second-best performer on par-5s (4.6, -4) in the tournament. The 165 pars by Monarchs are just two less than Illinois Wesleyan for the most. Chi's 37 pars leads the team and is tied for third-most in the field.
UP NEXT
- Methodist will be grouped with Illinois Wesleyan and Denison for Friday's final round.
- Each team's fifth-scoring golfer will tee off in the lead group at 9:20 a.m.
