Men's Golf | 5/14/2021 5:11:00 PM

WHEELING, W.Va.  A pair of Methodist golfers -- Cooper Hrabak and Andre Chi -- finished in the top five, leading the Monarchs to second place in the NCAA 2021 Division III Men's Golf Championship after Friday's final round of the four-day event.

Cooper Hrabak (75-69-73-70—287, 4-over par) ended in a two-way tie for second place. That is the highest finish by a Methodist golfer in the NCAA championships since Jeff Wells in 2015. Hrabak finished two strokes back of the individual medalist, Will Hocker (69-72-73-71—285, +2) from Webster (Mo.) University.

Methodist (300-281-297-290—1168, +36) put a stranglehold on second place early in Round 4, then finished 11 strokes ahead of third-place Guilford College but falling short of Illinois Wesleyan University (290-286-287-292—1155, +23) for the title by 13 strokes. This is the Monarchs' highest finish in the NCAA Championships since winning it in 2018.

While there was little drama between the teams at the top of the leaderboards, the battle between Hrabak, Hocker, and Andre Chi took a dramatic turn over the final day, especially over the last five holes. Chi (72-65-77-74—288, +5) finished in a two-way tie for fourth place and just one stroke back of Hrabak.

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 (290-286-287-292—1155, +23), 2 – Methodist (300-281-297-290—1168, +36), 3 – Guilford (302-286-295-296—1179, +47)
Top 3 individuals: 1 – Will Hocker, Webster (69-72-73-71—285, +2), T-2 – Cooper Hrabak, Methodist (75-69-73-70—287, +4), T-2 – Robb Kinder, Christopher Newport University (77-71-70-69—287, +4)
THE DETAILS

• When Hrabak walked up to the 16th tee of the Speidel Jones Course, he was one stroke behind Hocker at 2-under par after carding three birdies to just one bogey on the day. Hrabak finished in a tie for second after recording bogeys at the par-4 16th and 17th before claiming a birdie on the final hole. He had closed his front nine with four consecutive par putts before opening the back nine with a birdie and then five straight pars leading to hole 16. 
• Chi opened Round 4 with four straight pars before earning a birdie on the par-5 5th. That birdie was followed up by two consecutive bogeys. Chi moved back to even on the scorecard with a birdie on the 10th hole but a bogey followed on the very next hole. Chi held steady with four consecutive pars before giving back two strokes by way of bogeys in the final three holes.
• Henry Angier (74-76-74-73—297, +14) finished tied for 23rd after having identical scorecards for his front and back nine. He reeled off five straight pars between bogeys in his front nine and the birdie came late, on the par-4 9th. It was the same story on his back nine as his birdie (on the par-4 17th) came after the two bogeys.
• In the final day, Cameron Cappuzzo (79-76-73-73—301, +18) moved up an additional 11 spots, finishing in a tie for 34th. He had an eventful four holes on tees 11-14. A double bogey at 12th and a bogey at 13th was bookended by birdies on the par-3 11th and par-5 14th. His front nine featured two early bogeys and a birdie before four straight pars.
• Zane Brownrigg (85-71-79-74—309, +26) finishes the tournament in a tie for 71st. He limited his blemishes in the back nine to just one bogey after carding four in the front nine. His two birdies, which came at the 8th and 18th holes, ties a round-high in the tournament for him.
• Chi had started the final round in a four-way tie for first place and by the 13th hole, Chi and Hrabak stood alone for first place at 3-over par. Trailing behind them were four golfers within three strokes.
• One of those golfers was Hocker, who used a late surge to jump the Methodist golfers. Starting on the back nine and closing 2 over for that half, midway through his second nine Hocker reeled off an eagle at No. 5 before adding consecutive birdies on the next two holes, which moved him from 4-over par to even for the day.
• Methodist would finish with a tournament-best 8-under par, 4.88 on par-5s. Chi was the best individual performer in the field on the par-5s (4.62, -5).
• The 221 par putts as a team was second behind only Illinois Wesleyan. Chi led the Monarchs with 48 pars, followed by 46 from Hrabak.