NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – Guilford College shot two-under-par 286 Wednesday and climbed into second place halfway through the 72-hole NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships at the Keene Trace Golf Club. The Quakers fired the second round’s low score and their lowest spring round to move within four strokes of leader Illinois Wesleyan University with a 36-hole score of 582 (+6).
The sixth-ranked Quakers were one of 21 squads that played the par-72, 6,897-yard Keene Run Course Wednesday. Guilford found the conditions favorable as it fired 16 birdies and had all four scorers shoot par or better. The Quakers recorded an opening-round 296 Tuesday on the par-72, 7,190-yard Champion Trace Course.
Ranked third in the May 7 Golfstat.com Division III Rankings, Illinois Wesleyan carded Wednesday’s low score on Champion Trace (291) and has a two-over 578 for the tournament. Fourth-ranked Wittenberg University shot 292 on Champion Trace Wednesday and moved up a spot into third place, five strokes behind Guilford at 587. Huntingdon College, Golfstat.com’s second-ranked unit, fired a second-round 291 on Keene Run and sits fourth at 590. Oglethorpe University (295-303-598), Trinity (Conn.) College (290-308-598), and defending national champion Methodist University (300-298-598) share fifth place in the 42-team field.
Guilford senior Josh Hill (Superior, Colo./Monarch) birdied 18 to finish with a two-under 70, Wednesday’s low individual score on Keene Run. Hill had five birdies on the day, including three over the last five holes. Combined with Tuesday’s 73, he shares third place in the 216-man field with a 36-hole 143 (-1) that trails co-leaders Cameron Willis (Wittenberg) and Zane Browning (Methodist) by one stroke. Hill is part of a six-way tie for third place.
Quakers’ sophomore Addison Manring (Stoneville, N.C./McMichael) had three birdies in his second-round 72. His second-lowest round of the year lifted him 10 spots on the individual leaderboard into a share of 10th place at 73-72-145. Teammate James Mishoe (Cary, N.C./Green Hope (UNC Greensboro), Division III’s top-ranked golfer according to Golfstat.com, also shot 72. He made birdies on 16 and 17 to get to one-under before ending with a bogey five on 18. Guilford sophomore Louis Lambert (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin) made a 78-place leap among leaders by shaving eight strokes off his first-round 80. Lambert birdied the first two holes and 15 and 16 in his even-par 72 that moved him into a share of 45th place at 152. Teammate Jack Lee shot 78 Wednesday and shares 54th place at 153.
At the conclusion of Wednesday’s round, the field was pared to the top-18 teams and top-six individuals not competing on a top-18 team. Notable teams that missed the cut include 2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champion Washington and Lee University (T19, 622), tournament-host Transylvania University (T21, 623), top-ranked Emory University (23, 624), and seventh-ranked Southwestern (Texas) University (T24, 625).
Coach Adam Crawford’s Quakers tee off Thursday in a group with Illinois Wesleyan and Wittenberg starting at 9:20 p.m. (EDT). The third and fourth rounds will be contested on the Champion Trace Course, which played over two strokes per round higher than Keene Run after 36 holes.
Guilford won the Division III Championships in 2002 and 2005 and has three second-place finishes in the event, most recently in 2017.
NCAA Division III Championship
Keene Trace Golf Club
Nicholasville, KY
Champion Trace – DIII Men 2019 and Keene Run – DIII
Top 20 Schools Scores
1 Illinois Wesleyan 287 291 578 +2 2 Guilford College 296 286 582 +6 3 Wittenberg University 295 292 587 +11 4 Huntingdon College 299 291 590 +14 T5 Oglethorpe 295 303 598 +22 T5 Trinity College (CT) 290 308 598 +22 T5 Methodist University 300 298 598 +22 T8 Concordia Univ. (TX) 288 311 599 +23 T8 Carnegie Mellon Univ. 307 292 599 +23 10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 299 302 601 +25 11 Hope College 305 303 608 +32 12 Rutgers - Camden 300 311 611 +35 13 Hampden-Sydney College 297 315 612 +36 14 Willamette Univ. 308 306 614 +38 15 North Carolina Wesleyan 312 304 616 +40 16 Redlands 306 312 618 +42 T17 Aurora University 311 309 620 +44 T17 St. Thomas, Univ of-MN 310 310 620 +44