• The title is High Point’s first since Sept. 24-25, 2012 at the Joe Agee Invitational in Williamsburg, Va.
• Freshman Brendan MacDougall finished in third place (70, 67, 73, E) – the highest finish by a Panther this season.
• Freshman RJ Bartolomucci gave HPU two golfers in the top-five in the event finishing in a tie for fourth (69, 71, 71, +1).
MORGANTON, N.C. – The High Point University men’s golf team picked up its first tournament victory of the season at the Donald Ross Intercollegiate on Tuesday behind top-four finishes from freshmen Brendan MacDougall and RJ Bartolomucci.
MacDougall carded a 73 to finish the tournament at even par and in third place (70, 67, 73, E). Similarly, Bartolomucci continued to show consistency racking up 13 straight birdies while firing a 71 to tie for fourth in the event (69, 71, 71, +1).
As a team, the Panthers shot 289 (+9) to finish the week at the Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club with a +11 total (281, 281, 289). That mark gave HPU a four-stroke win over host Appalachian State (285, 291, 279, +16) for the program’s first tournament title since winning the Joe Agee Invitational on Sept. 24-25, 2012.
“I’m really excited to see the way the guys played, after us only being together as a team for five weeks, and to have success this early is huge,” head coach Brady Gregor said of his first head coaching win. “We really rode the success in the first two rounds of the tournament and we were able to close the door today. The win gives us huge momentum for the rest of the fall. Our success really starts from the administration and support staff all the way down to the team.”
MacDougall’s third-place finish is the best since Jack Sides claimed the Cape Fear Intercollegiate title in March of 2015. The Calgary, Alberta product’s 210 is tied for the third-lowest mark in program history. The freshman dominated par 5s (4.17) while managing a 4.00 stroke average on par 4s.
Just one stroke behind, Bartolomucci’s 211 tied for HPU’s fifth-best mark and earned him his first career top-10 finish. The Hilton Head, S.C. native was a picture of consistency all week for High Point finishing with a tournament-high 39 pars and a team-low seven bogeys.
“Brendan and RJ are a little disappointed because they came up short in trying to win the individual title,” Gregor said. “They wanted it bad and that’s how we coach them – to compete to win – so it’s good to see their desire to win is there.”
Landing just outside the top-10, sophomore Christian Casingal bookended his day with birdies en route to a 73 (+3) to wrap up the weekend in a tie for 11th. The Charleston, W. Va., product finished the tournament tied for eighth in par 3 scoring (3.09).
Meanwhile, the Panthers’ fourth top-15 finisher, redshirt-junior AJ Hopkins, went out in 34 (-1) before falling back to +2 (72) for the day. The performance placed Hopkins in a tied for 13th overall (71, 73, 72, +6) despite placing second in par 5 scoring (4.17).
Sophomore Davis Kiger was one-under through six holes before struggling down the stretch to shoot a 76 (+6). The Harrisonburg, N.C. native finished the tournament in 44th (74, 75, 76, +15).
The Panthers will look to continue their momentum next week at the Phoenix Intercollegiate on Oct. 17-18 at the Alamance Country Club in Burlington, N.C.