Both the Men's and Women's Golf teams were in action this week as they hosted the Bulldog Classic at the Harbor Club in Lake Oconee. Three Bulldogs made All-Tournament and the team scores placed the men 5th and the ladies 2nd in a stacked field of NJCAA D1 schools.
Bulldog Erin Peters fired back to back 82's to become the Women's medalist in her first collegiate tournament. Her mix of power off the tee and sweat touch around the green should keep her near the top each week she plays. Erin commented, "Yes, I am happy with that, I like winning but I can be better." Isabella Samples placed third with a 90-95(185) and if the swing devil did not arrive and take her swing on 14 she could have been higher. Emma Long and Hannah Rutland rounded out the Bulldogs scoring with 195 and 214 respectively. Emma battled through illness on Monday and posted 106, but recovered on Tuesday to post a season-low 89. Jada Arnold and Grace Faber also suited up for the Bulldogs in their first collegiate tournament. They learned a lot about what it takes to compete at this level and both posted better scores Tuesday.
The top 5 finishers for the ladies were Erin Peters-GMC (164), Blakely Arp-PCC(170, Isabella Samples-GMC (185), Abby Taylor-PCC (188), Amelia Majcina-SMCC (188)
On the Men's side, Bulldog Dylan Humphries posted a tournament-low 68 on Tuesday to take 2nd place overall just two strokes away from the win. His 68 was the only below-par round for the Bulldogs and one of only 4 for the entire tournament. "The course was playing difficult, the greens were fast but I hit it well today and gave myself chances" said Dylan. There were nine other men in the field for the Bulldogs as Coach Van Horn fielded two teams for the event. GMC A was made up of Austin Quillian, Noah Hankins, Dylan Humphries, Peyton Holland, Mason Cain, and GMC B was Palmer Wilson, Bailey Whitton, Liam Collins, Tyler Harris, Luke Mills. Besides Dylan's 2nd place finish Noah Hankins (77-76=153), Austin Quillian (77-76=153), and Palmer Wilson (77-78=155), had strong outings posting 2 rounds in the '70s and finishing inside the top 15.
Thomas Matthews from Eastern Florida took the medalist honors with a 76-68 for a 144. The remaining top 5 were Dylan Humphries – GMC A (146), Dylan Moncus – Central Alabama (146), Charlie Reeves Calhoun CC 146 and Drew Greene Spartanburg Methodist CC. Central Alabama CC took the team title with a 594 the remaining top 5 were Eastern Florida CC (612), Calhoun CC (615), Georgia Military College A (618) and Coastal Alabama CC (627). Another winner was the Harbor Club. The deep rough, slick greens were a real test for the players. The course superintendent likes to make his course a test for the college kids and as was said four subpar rounds are OK, more than that and we need to do something different. You can see all the scores by clicking HERE
Tournament Director and Head Coach Charles Van Horn had this to say, "I am happy with most of what happened this week. Many players played better than expected but we still have some work to do to be on top in June", he continued, "You know I think this event worked out well. It's a lot of work to put something like this on, but when you have the help of a good team and a pro like Keith Kelly it makes it a bit easier."
Tournament Assistant Director and GMC Assistant AD, Greg Zecca commented "it was a great event! The Harbor Club is such a tremendous venue. Keith Kelly and his team did everything we needed in a first-class manner." He continued, "At GMC we pride ourselves on excellence in everything we do and I think this event, at this location and on this course is reflective of that."
The Bulldogs will tee it up again October 8-9 at the Red Hawk Fall Collegiate Invitational in Athens, Alabama.