College Men’s Golf News – Guilford Wins O’Briant-Jensen Memorial

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College shot a three-under-par 281 Tuesday to win its first O’Briant-Jensen Memorial Tournament since 2011. The Quakers shot an even-par 287-281-568 over 36 holes in the annual fall tournament it hosts on the par-71, 6,654-yard Sedgefield Golf and Country Club Dye Course in northwest Greensboro. The 568 is the second-lowest team 36-hole team total in the tournament’s 41-year history and missed the record of 565 set by Huntingdon College in 2016.

Guilford, which started the day tied with neighboring Greensboro College, captured the 18-team event for the fourth time in school history. The Quakers won by six strokes over second-place Huntingdon. Paced by tournament medalist Drew Mathers, the Hawks carded a four-under 280 Tuesday, the tournament’s lowest team score. Defending NCAA Division III and O’Briant-Jensen Memorial tournament champion Methodist University placed third with a 15-over 292-291-583, followed by Washington and Lee University (299-288-587) and Greensboro (287-306-593).

The Quakers placed three students on the five-man all-tournament team. Junior James Mishoe carded the tournament’s low score with a four-under 67 Tuesday to finish in a tie for second place with teammate Louis Lambert at 140. Washington and Lee’s George May had a one-under 70 Tuesday to finish fourth at 141, two strokes of Guilford’s Jack Lee (71-72-143), who played as an individual in the 90-man field.

Mathers, a junior from Mobile, Alabama, headlined the team after his second college tournament victory. He made a tourney-best 11 birdies over the 36 holes, including six on the back nine holes Tuesday. After opening with a double bogey on the par-four first hole and making the turn at four over, Mathers caught fire down the stretch with birdies on six of the next eight holes. He shot 30 on the back nine Tuesday.

Guilford’s Mishoe and Lambert challenged Mathers for most of the day. Mishoe opened with birdies on the first and fourth holes and made the turn a two under. He made a four on the par-five 10th hole and eagled the par-five 15th hole to drop five-under par. Mishoe bogeyed the final hole to finish at 67, his lowest score and eighth subpar round of the fall. Lambert, playing in just his second fall event, delivered a career-low 68 Tuesday despite bogeys on his final two holes. He registered six birdies in the round, including four straight on holes 12-15.

The O’Briant-Jensen dates to 1978 and is named for Guilford Athletics Hall of Famer Tom O’Briant ’49, his wife, Bettie, and legendary Quakers’ golf coach Jack Jensen. This year’s field featured seven top-25 teams according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches’ Poll, and seven of the top-17 squads in the current Golfstat.com Relative Rankings.

Coach Adam Crawford’s Quakers concluded the fall tournament with top-six results in each of five events with two victories. The team’s next tournament is March 4-5, 2019, at the Callaway Gardens Invitational in Georgia.