BOULDER CITY, Nev. For the 14th time in school history, the Methodist men's golf team has captured the NCAA Division III national championship. The Monarchs entered Friday's final round tied for second place with the University of Redlands (-14) and just one stroke behind reigning-champion Carnegie Mellon University (-15).
It became a two-horse race for the crown as Methodist and Carnegie Mellon began to trade possession of the top spot, with the Monarchs holding a one-stroke advantage heading into the final hole. The score remained the same after four golfers from each team had finished the hole, leaving Brian Xu for Carnegie Mellon and
Cooper Hrabak for Methodist.
Xu carded a birdie to bring his team level with the Monarchs. Sitting on the green after his second shot, Hrabak lined up his putt and sank a birdie of his own, giving Methodist the one-stroke victory.
The Monarchs amassed a team score of 21-under par, crushing the previous NCAA Championship record for best score relative to par after four rounds, which was still being held by Methodist's 1998 team at nine-under par.
JUST THE FACTS
Event: 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship
Course: Boulder Creek Golf Club (Par 72 – 7,377 yards)
Top teams: 1 – Methodist (271-295-284-281—1,131; -21), 2 – Carnegie Mellon (282-287-280-283—1,132; -20), T3 – Oglethorpe (285-292-283-289—1,149; -3), T3 – Emory (272-302-284-291—1,149; -3)
Top individuals: 1 – Michael O'Sullivan, Oglethorpe (66-70-71-69—276; -12), 2 –
Cooper Hrabak, Methodist (67-73-70-67—277; -11), T3 – Griffin Pohl, Illinois Wesleyan (66-77-70-67—280; -8), T3 – Brian Xu, Carnegie Mellon (72-71-68-69—280; -8)
FINAL ROUND
- With a head full of steam, Hrabak caught fire to lead the way for Methodist on Friday, rattling off three birdies on Holes 7, 8 and 9 to finish the front nine at three-under par. Two more birdies on the back nine put him at -5 until his only hiccup of the day – a bogey on Hole 17. Taking on the final hole, Hrabak redeemed his lone error with a championship-sealing birdie. The senior shot five-under par on the round (tied for Friday's best score) and finished the event at 11-under par – just one stroke behind the individual champion.
- Carding a one-under par in the final round, Caleb Ryan was consistent down the stretch, recording par or better on the final eight holes. He dropped in four bogeys on the day but made up for it with five birdies. At -6 through four rounds, he finished tied for sixth place in the individual standings.
- Also finishing Friday's round at one-under par, Aiden Spampinato aided in pushing Methodist to the top of the leaderboard by sinking three birdies on the front nine. He ended the round with four birdies and three bogeys, making his four-day score even par. He finished tied for 24th among all competitors.
- Cameron Cappuzzo saw both highs and lows on his way to an even-par score in the final round. The senior birdied Hole 2 before dropping in a triple-bogey on the fifth hole. He bounced back with a birdie on Hole 7, then sank an eagle on 13, becoming the fifth Monarch to record an eagle over the four-day span. Bogeys on Holes 16 and 17 put him at +1 and outside of the scoring group for Methodist, but a birdie on the final hole helped preserve Methodist's title hopes by essentially counteracting a bogey from Chase Walts.
- Walts had a blazing start to the round, draining three birdies through five holes. A birdie on Hole 10 put him at four-under par, but his momentum flipped after a double-bogey on 11. He finished the round at one-over par but still ended the event with a four-round total of two-under par – good enough to finish tied for 17th overall.
Beginning with the program's first NCAA title victory in 1990,
Steve Conley has been the head coach of the Methodist men's golf team for all 14 national championships – the most by any Division III men's golf team.
