• For the second straight round, sophomore RJ Bartolomucci led the Panthers shooting a -2 (70) to finish the tournament tied for 10th (72-69-70, -5)
• Sophomore Brendan MacDougall carded +1 (73) to wrap up the event tied for 13th in the competitive field (67-74-73, -2).
• High Point finished fifth – its highest placement of the fall – posting a +2 (290) in the final round and its first under-par tournament of the season (286-285-290, -3).
HOLLYWOOD, S.C. – The High Point University men’s golf squad earned its top finish of the fall placing fifth in The Battle at Stono Ferry on Saturday.
For the second time in the three-round event, sophomore RJ Bartolomucci paced the Panthers firing a -2 (70) on the final 18. Behind his strong finish, the Hilton Head, S.C. native earned his first top-10 finish of the fall tying for 10th (72-69-70, -5).
Meanwhile, the Purple & White carded a +2 (290) in the final round on Saturday morning to close out its first top-5 finish of the season (286-285-290, -3). The tournament marked Bartolomucci’s first sub-par event and was the first time HPU finished under par with head coach Brady Gregor at the helm.
“I’m very proud of the way the team competed this week,” head coach Brady Gregor said. “We had our best finish of the year in the toughest field of the fall. Anytime you go out and get a top-5 finish and pick up wins against teams inside the top-100 it’s only going to increase your confidence. Individually, we had some great performances as Davis Kiger, RJ Bartolomucci and Ethan Willis all had, in my mind, their best performances of their careers to this point. This is the first time since I arrived at HPU that we have finished a tournament under par and that is something the guys can be proud of going into the offseason.”
Both sophomore Brendan MacDougall and freshman Ethan Willis completed the weekend with 73s. After opening the tournament with a 67 on Friday, MacDougall tied for 13th overall (69-74-73, -2). It was MacDougall’s fourth tournament under par in five events this fall.
Meanwhile, Willis’ 73 allowed the freshman to place in a tie for 32nd (74-72-73, +3) as junior Davis Kiger finished one stroke lower and tied for 28th (73-71-74, +2).
Rounding out the lineup in the event’s final round, senior Emile Menard shot an 81 while freshman Ryan McCarthy posted a 90 in the final round as an individual.
Entering the tournament, the Purple & White were focused on improving their par-5 scoring and shot -17 on those holes this weekend. Bartolomucci, who went -7 on the course’s longest holes, paced the group.
Campbell earned the event’s title with a 54-hole score of 839 while Hunter Dunagan of the College of Charleston won medalist honors finishing -16.
The event concluded HPU’s fall slate and the Panthers won’t be back in competition until Feb. 26-27 at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate.