GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College junior Noah Ratner (Asheville, N.C./Asheville) shot a career-low 65 Monday to help the Quakers open a four-stroke lead in the O’Briant-Jensen Memorial Golf Tournament at the Cardinal Golf and Country Club.
Ratner, who has won his first two tournaments this fall, birdied the first three holes and the last three holes of the par-70, 7,002-yard layout in northwest Greensboro. His score bettered his previous low (66), set two weeks ago in the first round of the Golfweek Fall Invitational. Ratner’s stroke average through seven rounds this fall dipped to 68.9.
Guilford’s Drew Thompson also shot a personal low in his third college appearance. Despite a bogey on the par-four 18th, the Ohio freshman finished with a one-under 70, one of just five subpar rounds in the 89-man field.
Behind the combined six-under-par effort by Ratner and Thompson, the defending tournament champion Quakers shot 294 Monday, four strokes better than in-state rivals Greensboro College and Methodist University, which both shot 298. LaGrange College (300) and Averett University (313) rounded out the top-five schools in the 15-team field.
Playing individually, Liberty University’s David Jeh shot 69 and shares second place with Methodist’s Andrew Bateman. LaGrange’s Hudson Keener fired a 70 to share fourth with Guilford’s Thompson.
The 36-hole tournament concludes Tuesday. It is named for former Guilford golf coach Jack Jensen and boosters Tom and Bettie O’Briant. The event has been held annually since 1978 when it was named the Guilford Invitational.