GUILFORD’S HENNICK, GREENSBORO COLLEGE AND BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE LEAD O’BRIANT-JENSEN MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
Greensboro, N.C. – Top-ranked Greensboro College and
Bridgewater College both shot 25-over-par 305 Monday to share the
first-round lead at the O’Briant-Jensen Memorial Golf Tournament. The
36-hole competition is being held on the Cardinal Golf and Country Club.
Methodist University sits one stroke off the pace at 306, followed by
tournament host Guilford College (308) and Greensboro’s B team (311).
The 17-team event concludes Tuesday with 18 holes on the
par-70, 7,002-yard layout in northwest Greensboro.
Guilford’s Mat Hennick fired the day’s low round with a
one-under-par 69. He made a round-best four birdies Monday, including three
on the back nine where he shot one-under 34. Methodist’s Mike Duncan and
Bridgewater’s Mike Redwood both fired even-par 70 to share second place
among 90 golfers. Greensboro’s Ben Nihart holds fourth place after striking
four birdies in his round of 71. Teammate Nick Peoples, playing for the
Pride’s B team, made three birdies and sits fifth at 72. Greensboro’s Brock
Elder is sixth after shooting 73 on a mild day that featured midday rain
showers and produced an average score of 82.0.
After Nihart and Elder, Joshua Hudgins carded an 80 to share
31st place for Greensboro, which is ranked first in the Sept. 30 *Golf World
*/Nike Golf NCAA Division III Coaches’ Poll and seventh in the Oct. 20
Golfstat.com Division III Head-to-Head Standings. Josh Nichols and Connor
Kennedy both shot 81, which stands 40th overall.
Tod Foshee shot 75 and grabbed eighth-place for Bridgewater,
the defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference champions. The Eagles’ Travis
Gahman shot 79 and John Phillips added an 81 for the nation’s 27th-ranked
squad according to Golfstat.com.
Guilford, ranked first in the Golfstat.com ratings and
seventh in the *Golf World* poll, had junior Dusty Roberts (Reidsville,
N.C./Rockingham County) place eighth with a first-round 75. Rookie Alex Wise
(Eden, N.C./Carlisle School (Va.)) shot 81 and teammates J.T. Thomas and
Noah Ratner posted matching scores of 83.
This year’s event features three of NCAA Division III’s
top-25 teams, according to the Sept. 30 *Golf World*/NIKE Golf Division III
Coaches Poll, including three of the top-seven squads. Top-ranked
Greensboro, third-ranked Greensboro and seventh-ranked Guilford make this a
challenging fall tournaments. Six schools are ranked among the top-32 teams
in the current Golfstat.com Division III ratings.
The O’Briant-Jensen returned to the renovated Pete
Dye-designed Cardinal Golf and Country Club in 2008 following two years at
the Greensboro Country Club. Guilford first hosted the tournament from
1978-87 when it was called the Guilford College Invitational. It is named
for longtime Guilford golf supporters Tom & Bettie O’Briant as well former
Guilford golf mentor Jack Jensen, who died suddenly last March in the midst
of his 33rd season as the Quakers’ golf coach.
Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics
Greensboro College Report:
Greensboro, N.C. — Led by Ben Nihart (Winston-Salem, NC/Hhome school)’s 71, the Greensboro College golf team is tied for first place at the O’Briant-Jensen Invite held at the Cardinal Country Club. Team Results ~ Individual results
GC shot a 305 and is tied with Bridgewater College. Methodist is one shot back in third place. Host Guilford recorded a 308 and is three shots off the lead.
Guilford’s Matt Hennick was the only player to shoot under par (69/minus one). Nihart is in fourth place, two shots behind the leader.
“I told the guys the course and the weather will be difficult,” said GC Head Coach Dirk Fennie. “But we’ve won before in rough conditions and have practiced a lot in the rain, so we were prepared. We played well, but gave away some strokes at the end,”
The GC B-team also fared well. Led by freshman Nick Peoples (North Berwick, Scotland/The Edinburgh Academy ) (72), the squad fired a 311. The second unit is in fifth place of the 17 teams at the tournament.
Pride scores:
Place, Name, 9-9-18
4 Ben Nihart (Winston-Salem, NC/Hhome school) 35- 36 71
6 Brock Elder (Greensboro, NC/Vandalia Christian) 37- 36 73
T 31 Joshua Hudgins (King, NC/West Stokes) 41- 39 80
T 40 Josh Nichols (Waxhaw, NC/West Fosyth) 39- 42 81
T 40 Connor Kennedy (Siler City, NC/Jordan Matthews High School) 36- 45 81
Pride B Team scores:
Place, Name, 9-9-18
5 Nick Peoples (North Berwick, Scotland/The Edinburgh Academy ) 34- 38 72
T 11 Greg Pappas 35- 41 76
T 40 Tim Carey (Plymouth, Ma./Coyle Cassidy HS) 40- 41 81
T 48 Clint Dillon (Madison, NC/Dalton L. McMichael) 45- 37 82
T 55 Brian Critzer (Richmond, Va./Monacan HS) 40- 44 84