College Golf Results – Guilford Climbs to 11th After 36 Holes at Golfweek Fall Invitational

SANDESTIN, Fla. – Guilford College’s men’s golf team shot 296 Monday and climbed two spots into 11th place after 36 holes of the Golfweek Division III Fall Invitational. The tournament is being played at the par-71, 6,793-yard Raven Golf Club at Sandestin.

The Quakers, ranked fifth in the current Golf World/Nike Golf Division III Coaches’ Poll, have a team score of 603, 24 strokes off the pace of second-ranked Methodist University, which maintained its first-round edge with a round of 290 Monday. The Monarchs enter Tuesday’s third and final round with a two-shot lead over St. John’s (Minn.) University, which posted the day’s low score (289) to climb one spot ahead of LaGrange College. Methodist’s 11-over-par 579 leads the 18-team field by two strokes. LaGrange (290-293-583) sits four strokes back in third place. The University of Texas-Tyler (292-292-584) and Skidmore College (293-297-590) round out the top five teams.

Guilford lowered its Sunday score by nine shots with a 13-over 296 Monday. Senior Noah Ratner showed the way for the Quakers for a second straight round with another one-over 72. His 36-hole 144 leaves him in a share of ninth place in the 90-man field. Teammate Drew Thompson shot 75 Monday and is in 32nd place individually with a 74-75-149. Sophomore Travis Tolbert had Guilford’s second-best score Tuesday (74) and is in 52nd place at 79-74-153. Nick Shedd (81-76-157) and Ben Pinkleton (84-76-160) round out the Quakers’ lineup

LaGrange’s Cory Howard maintained his spot atop the leaderboard with a three-under 68 that opened a three-shot edge over St. Thomas’ Alex Kapraun. Howard carded a 69 in Sunday’s opening round and is now five-under over 36 holes. Methodist’s Andrew Bateman, Sunday’s number-two scorer, shot 71 Monday and shares third place at 141. St. John’s Drew Lynch and Rhodes Eric Muslawski are also at 141.

The 54-hole tournament previews of the courses used for the 2013 NCAA Division III Championships next May and features 16 teams ranked in the Division III Coaches’ Poll, including eight top-10 squads.