DATAW ISLAND, S.C. – Guilford College junior Noah Ratner (Asheville, N.C./Asheville) won his school-record tying fourth tournament of the season with a 77-76-78-231 at the TaylorMade adidas Intercollegiate Tuesday. Ratner won the 54-hole tournament by six shots over freshman teammate Mitch Robinette (Charlotte, N.C./Grace Academy), who placed second with a 78-78-80-236.
Ratner’s fourth win ties Guilford Hall of Famer Bill Brooks ’83 for most tournament titles in a season. Brooks won four events in 1982-83, including the 1983 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship.
Ratner and Robinette helped the top-ranked Quakers clinch their second straight title and fourth of the season. Guilford shot 309-318-315-942 and captured the eight-team event by 36 shots over second-place Wake Technical Community College.
The teams found buggy and breezy conditions, plus hard greens, which made for high scores on the par-72, 6,761-yard Cotton Dike layout. Guilford posted the low team score in all three rounds, yet finished 78 strokes over par for the tournament.
Ratner’s started Tuesday’s third and final round with a one-stroke lead over Mount St. Joseph College individual Drew Nichols. Nichols stumbled to an 89 Tuesday, while Ratner shot 78, the day’s second-low score. Senior teammate Dusty Roberts (Reidsville, N.C./Rockingham County) also fired a 78 and shared seventh place with an 82-82-78-242. Guilford’s Drew Thompson placed fifth in the 50-man field with a 75-85-79-236. His three-over 75 shared low round honors for the tournament with the Quakers’ Dallas Page (Reidsville, N.C./Rockingham County (Averett)), who shot 75-83-79-237 to finish third, playing as an individual.
Hampden-Sydney College’s Ronnie Fultz finished fourth with an 81-78-79-240, which helped the Tigers placed third in the team standings.
Coach Corey Maggard’s Quakers, ranked first in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf Division III Coaches’ Poll and Golfstat.com NCAA Division III Relative Rankings, return to action Mar. 30-Apr. 1 at the Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate in Camp Lejeune, N.C.