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Wire to Wire!

9/21/2021 5:42:00 PM

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla.  Methodist's top-ranked men's golf team on Tuesday closed out a wire-to-wire finish atop the team leaderboard, capturing the team title at the three-day NCAA Men's Fall Division III Preview at Mission Inn Resort & Club.

The Monarchs' 12-under par 852 was five strokes clear of runner-up Emory (Ga.) University, and eight ahead of third-place Huntingdon (Ala.) College.

The individual leaderboard also saw a Monarch on top as senior All-American Andre Chi earned individual medalist honors with a 9-under 207, finishing two strokes ahead of Ethan Unverzagt of Huntingdon and Jimmy Morton of Illinois Wesleyan University, who were both at a 7 under 209.

THE ESSENTIALS
Event: NCAA Men's Fall D-III Preview
Location: El Campeon Golf Course (Par-72, 6,750 yards) and Las Colinas Golf Course (Par-72, 6,869 yds.) at Mission Inn Resort & Club; Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Top teams: 1 – Methodist (273-290-289—852, -12), 2 – Emory (287-285-285—857, -7), 3 – Huntingdon (284-295-281—860, -4)
Top individuals: 1 – Andre Chi, Methodist (69-68-70—207, -9), T-2 – Ethan Unverzagt, Huntingdon (70-70-69—209, -7), T-2 – Jimmy Morton, Ill. Wesleyan (68-70-71—209, -7)

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Methodist, No. 1 in the recent Bushnell/Golfweek D-III rankings, took control of the tournament in the opening round on Sunday, posting a 15-under 273 to build an 11-stroke lead over Huntingdon.
  • Day 2 was on the challenging El Campeon layout at Mission Inn, but the Monarchs maintained their lead, though Emory cut the cushion to two strokes, while Huntingdon slipped to third.
  • Chi climbed to the top spot on Day 2 with his 4-under 68, sparked by five birdies.
  • Tuesday's concluding round wasn't without its thrills as the front nine brought on plus-scores for all five Monarchs, while Emory (No. 5 in the national rankings) was closing to within three strokes and Huntingdon (No. 3) was in the midst of the low round of the day.
  • Methodist responded after the turn, though, as all five Monarchs saw improvements and four of five were under par over the final nine.
  • Chi hit the turn at 1 over before birdieing the 10th, then picking up three more birdies on Nos. 14-16 to close the back at 3 under and end the day with a 2-under 70.
  • All-American Cooper Hrabak (68-77-72—217, +1) also hit the turn at 1 over (after 8 pars and 1 bogey), and he, too, birdied the 10th. A dropped shot on the 12th was erased by another birdie on the 14th, allowing the sophomore to end the back half at 1 under, even for the day, and tied for 15th place overall, improving three spots from where he began the round.
  • Aiden Spampinato (72-73-75—220, +4) continued his strong tournament, ending in a tie for 26th place. The sophomore went through the opening nine Tuesday at 4 over, but birdied the 10th, added three pars before a bogey on No. 14, then finished the round with par, par, par, birdie.
  • Ending in a tie for 51st place was All-American Henry Angier (64-80-80‚224, +8). The opening-round leader, Angier was not as steady in Round 2 and on Tuesday opening the front at 6 over. A birdie on No. 10 changed his tune, though, and he finished the back half just 2 over for an 8-over 80.
  • One round made the difference for junior Cameron Cappuzzo (82-72-72—226, +10). After struggling on Sunday, Cappuzzo posted back-to-back 72s, climbing 33 spots up the leaderboard Monday, and then 20 more on Tuesday. Two bogeys were his only missteps on the day's front nine, and then he made it unanimous for the Monarchs on the par-5 10th, carding Methodist's fifth birdie on the hole. He added two more birdies, on the 13th and 14th, and finished his final round at even par.
FACTS & FIGURES
  • The 24-team tournament included 17 of the teams ranked in the Bushnell/Golfweek top 25, including the first 12 teams in the poll.
  • Chi collected 15 birdies, second most in the field of 122, and 33 pars to shoot par or better on 48 of 54 holes.
  • He led the field on the par 4s with a cumulative 3-under score and 3.90 average, and his 5-under total (4.58) on the par 5s was tied for third best.
  • Both Cooper (-4, 4.67) and Spampinato (-2, 4.83) also finished under par on the Mission Inn par 5s.
  • Angier's roller-coaster ride over the three days included 13 birdies, tied for fourth most in the field.
  • Collectively, Methodist was 11 under (4.82) on the par 5s, a tournament best, and +16 (4.11) on the par 4s, tied for second best.
  • The Monarchs' 59 birdies were the most in the field.
UP NEXT
Methodist will travel to Ligonier, Pennsylvania, for its next tournament, the Carnegie Mellon University Tartan Invitational on October 11-12 at Laurel Valley Golf Club.
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