LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. – Guilford College junior Noah Ratner (Asheville, N.C./Asheville) shot a five-over-par 76 in Thursday’s second round of the Patriot All-America Invitational on the Wigwam Resort’s Gold Course. Despite improving on his opening-round score of 78, Ratner fell five places in the individual standings and heads into Friday’s final round in a share of 62nd place in the 82-team field.
Cory Whitsett shot a tournament-best seven-under-par 64 to take a two-shot lead. His nine-under 133 is two shots better than his college roommate at Alabama, Bobby Wyatt. Whitsett took advantage of ideal conditions early with an eagle on his first hole. He followed with a birdie on four and managed five-straight pars before recording his second eagle on 10. Two more birdies on 13 and 16 gave Whitsett a bogey-free 64 and vaulted him from a tie for third into first place.
Ratner is the lone Guilford student competing 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.
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.
Ratner tees off from the 10th hole at 10:50 a.m. (PST) in Friday’s third and final round.