College Golf News – Guilford to Co-Host Top Division III Men’s Golfers in September

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Twelve of the top-20 NCAA Division III men’s golf teams ranked in the final 2012-13 Golfstat.com Relative Rankings square off Sept. 22-23 in the Tournament Town Championship Preview at the Grandover Resort. The 18-team event previews the 2014 NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held at Grandover Resort May 13-16. The fall and spring tournaments are co-hosted by the Greensboro Sports Commission and Guilford College.

Ten-time national champion Methodist University earned the top spot in the final 2013 Golfstat.com rankings and finished third in last year’s NCAA Division III Championships behind the University of Texas-Tyler and Transylvania University. Transylvania, alma mater of Guilford head coach Corey Maggard, is one of five teams headed to Greensboro after finishing seventh or higher in the national championship. Guilford was 13th in the final 2013 Golfstat.com rankings after its 17th-place NCAA finish. Greensboro College placed 11th at last year’s national tournament and stood 19th in the final Golfstat.com rankings.

Oglethorpe University junior Anthony Maccaglia leads a distinguished field of 90 individuals in the tournament. The 2012 NCAA Division III national champion earned First Team PING All-America honors for the second straight season last year and was named to the 2013 All-Nicklaus Team by the Golf Coaches’ Association of America. He is one of at least 18 2013 All-Americans slated to play in the tournament. Guilford junior Drew Thompson, a third-team All-American last season, is the Quakers’ top returner.

This year’s 36-hole tournament is played on the par-72, East Course at Grandover Resort in southern Greensboro. Following Saturday’s practice rounds, teams will enjoy dinner at the nearby Sedgefield Country Club, hosted by the Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation, which organizes the Wyndham Championship, Greensboro’s annual PGA Tour stop.

2013 TOURNAMENT TOWN CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW PARTICIPANTS

School                  Location            2013 NCAA Finish         Final 2012-13 Golfstat.com Ratings
Averett University      Danville, Va.                                33
Berry College           Mt. Berry, Ga.
Centre College          Danville, Ky.                                24
Christopher Newport U.  Newport News, Va.                            21
Emory University        Atlanta, Ga.          4                       7
Greensboro College      Greensboro, N.C.     11                      19
Guilford College        Greensboro, N.C.    T17                      13
Gustavus Adolphus Col.  St. Peter, Minn.      7                       6
Illinois Wesleyan U.    Bloomington, Ill.    T9                       5
LaGrange College        LaGrange, Ga.                                17
Methodist University    Fayetteville, N.C.    3                       1
Nebraska Wesleyan U.    Lincoln, Neb.       T17                      27
Oglethorpe University   Atlanta, Ga.         23                       8
St. John’s University   Collegeville, Minn.   6                       4
U. of St. Thomas        St. Paul, Minn.      19                      18
Transylvania University Lexington, Ky.        2                       3
Whitworth University    Spokane, Wash.       21                      26
Wittenberg University   Springfield, Ohio    13                      12