LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. – Guilford College junior Noah Ratner (Asheville, N.C./Asheville) shot 78 in Wednesday’s first round of the inaugural Patriot All-America Invitational Golf Tournament at the Wigwam Golf Resort. His seven-over-par score puts him in a share of 57th place.
Ratner, the lone Guilford student competing, is one of 82 contestants in the 54-hole tournament hosted by the Wigwam Golf Club, the Arizona Golf Association, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and the Folds of Honor Foundation. The field is comprised of current college golfers from all divisions who received PING All-America recognition in 2011. GCAA major award recipients, members of the most recent Palmer Cup Teams and a member from the United States Military, Naval and Air Force Academies’ teams are also included in the field.
Ratner started and finished his round with double bogeys on the first and 18th holes. He made three birdies on the day, but also had double bogeys on nine and 10.
The tournament was created this year to recognize top college golfers and honor fallen U.S. military servicemen and servicewomen. Each participant in the event is carrying a golf bag representing a fallen military member. At the tournament’s conclusion, the bags will be signed by the contestants and auctioned off for the benefit of the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military men and women killed or disabled in action.
The second round is Thursday and the final round is Friday.