LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. – Guilford College junior Noah Ratner (Asheville, N.C./Asheville) shot a seven-over-par 78 in Friday’s third and final round of the Patriot All-America Invitational on the Wigwam Resort’s Gold Course. The Quakers’ All-American shared 66th place in the star-studded field of 82 college players with a three-day score of 232.
Cory Whitsett shot a five-under-par 66 to win the tournament by three strokes over his college roommate at the University of Alabama, Bobby Wyatt. Whitsett finished with a 14-under 199 thanks to his third straight subpar round Friday, which featured six birdies.
Ratner was 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 was 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 were also invited.
The tournament was created in 2011 to recognize top college golfers and honor fallen U.S. military servicemen and servicewomen. Each participant in the event carried a golf bag representing a fallen military member. The bags were signed by the contestants and will be auctioned off by each school’s athletic department 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. Individuals interested in bidding on Ratner’s bag should contact Guilford head coach Corey Maggard at 336-316-2157 or maggardwc@guilford.edu.
Ratner and the rest of his Guilford teammates are ranked first in both major NCAA Division III golf rankings after a successful fall season. Coach Corey Maggard’s Quakers open the spring portion of their schedule Feb. 27 at the Pine Needles Intercollegiate.