Live Scoring | Match/Medal Play Pairings
DENVER - Florida Southern knew going into Thursday's final round of stroke play at the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championships that is all they had to do was finish with a score of at least par to earn a spot in the match/medal play round that determines a team national champion as the fifth-ranked Moccasin did just that as they fired a five-under par 283 at the Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
The Mocs, who played in the second to last tee groupings in Thursday's final round of stroke play, used its final round 282 to finish the 54 hole stroke play portion of the national championships with a 13-under par team score of 851 to finish one shot behind second place and No. 2 ranked Chico State, who shot a 14-under 850.
Both FSC and Chico State finished 12 and 13 shots respectively behind third-ranked Saint Leo, who took home first place as a team in stroke play after carding a 54-hole NCAA Championship team record of 26-under par 838. SLU's 26-under team score bettered the old championships record of 16-under set by Florida Southern in 1999.
The Mocs entered the final three holes of its round sitting in fourth place as a team as its counters had shot 1-under par as a team up to that point, but the Mocs four counters closed the round by shooting a 3-under par as a team on those final three holes to move up to third place on the leaderboard.
With its third place finish in stroke play, the Mocs earned the No. 3 seed in the match/medal play round, which begins on Thursday morning to determine the team national champion. The Mocs will face No. 6 seeded Cal Baptist, who fired a 1-under 863 as a team to finish stroke in sixth place as a team. The top eight teams following the completion of stroke play were seeded for match/medal play. In match play, each teams' players will be paired off to face off for the best 18-hole score. One point will be awarded to the winner of each individual match and the first team to three points wins. Ties will be broken by a cumulative score tiebreaker.
FSC's final round score of 283 was tied with Central Missouri for the second lowest score of the round as only West Florida's final round of 280 was better. UWF's 280 in Thursday's final round helped the Argonauts climb three spots up the leaderboard as they finished seventh overall after carding an even-par 864 for 54 holes.
In addition to SLU, Chico State, FSC, Cal Baptist and UWF, the other teams that qualified for the match/medal play round were Barry and Lynn, who tied for fourth overall after carding 6-under 858's for 54 holes as Barry closed the final round with a 293 and Lynn carded a final round 286 and Wilmington (Del.), who fired a 2-over 866 as a team, earned its first-ever appearance in the match/medal play. In the final round, Wilmington shot a 291.
Leading the way for the Mocs on Thursday was sophomore All-American John Coultas (Valrico, Fla.) as he carded a 3-under 69 to push his 54 hole total to a 9-under par 207 to finish in fourth place overall. Coultas, who was named to the All-Tournament Team after placing in the Top 5, opened by firing a 2-under 34 on the front nine and then carded a 1-under 35 on the back nine. In Thursday's final round, Coultas, who had rounds of 70 and 68 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, recorded five birdies, two bogeys and 11 pars on his scorecard and recorded three birdies over the final four holes of the front nine.
While Saint Leo finished first as a team in stroke play, SLU's Hugo Bernard took home the individual national championship as he fired an even-par 72 in Thursday's final round and shot a 54-hole championships record of 13-under par as Bernard finished with a 203 for the tournament. With his individual national title, Bernard becomes Saint Leo's first-ever NCAA champion - team or individual - in any sport.
Bernard won by two shots over Western New Mexico's Callum Hill as he closed out the tournament by shooting a final round 67 (-5) to push his 54 hole total to an 11-under par 205. Limestone's Griffin Brown finished third overall as he shot a 10-under par 206 for 54 holes after carding a final round 70 (-2). Hill and Brown were two of the eight individual qualifiers playing at this year's national championship.
In Thursday's final round, the Mocs four counters towards the team shoot par or better as joining Coultas under par was sophomore John VanDerLaan (Southbury, Conn.), who fired a 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for 12th. Sophomore Jimmy Jones (Tampa, Fla.) and freshman Michael VanDerLaan (Southbury, Conn.) each shot even-par 72's in the final round. The fifth golfer for the Mocs on Thursday was freshman Christian Anderson (Ocala, Fla.), who fired a final round 77 (+5).
For the three-day, 54-hole tournament, only 26 golfers shot under par and 11 other golfers shot even par on the 7,327-yard Green Valley Ranch course.
The next highest finisher for the Mocs behind Coultas was John VanDerLaan as he finished in a tie for 12th place after carding a 5-under 211 for 54 holes. VanDerLaan, who opened the tournament with a 68, before carding a 73 in the second round, recorded four birdies, two bogeys and 12 pars on his scorecard. Three of VanDerLaan's birdies came on the back nine, including closing his round with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes.
Jones was the third finisher for the Mocs as his final round 72 helped him finish in a tie for 27th place with an even-par 216. In Thursday's final round, Jones, who shot even par 72's in all three rounds, recorded four birdies, two bogeys, a double-bogey and 11 pars on his final round scorecard. Three of Jones' four birdies came over his final seven holes.
The fourth counter for the Mocs at the national championships was Anderson, who carded a 54 hole total of 7-over 223 after shooting his final round 77 to finish in a tie for 69th place. Anderson, who fired a 72 in the first round and a 74 in the second round, recorded two birdies, five bogeys, one double bogey and 10 pars on his final round scorecard. After shooting a 4-over 40 on the front nine, Anderson rebounded to shoot a 1-over 37 on the back nine.
FSC's final finisher at the national championships was Michael VanDerLaan as his final round 72 helped the younger VanDerLaan climb 14 spots up the leaderboard and finish in a tie for 74th place after carding a 9-over 225 for 54 holes. Michael VanDerLaan, who shot an 80 in the first round and a 72 in the second round, recorded four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the 18th hole. Prior to the double bogey on the 18th hole, VanDerLaan was on pace to finish with a score of under par.
The Mocs will have little time to rest as they return to the course on Friday, May 20 to begin the match/medal play format of the championships. The Mocs will open match/medal play against No. 6 seeded Cal Baptist. Both teams' individually seeded golfers will battle heads-up against each other through 18 holes with the winning team advancing on to the semifinals on Friday afternoon. The finals are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, May 21. FSC's quarterfinal match with Cal Baptist will tee-off beginning at 10:20 a.m. Eastern from the 10th hole.
2016 NCAA Championship Medal/Match Play
(All times listed are EST. Teams will tee off at #1 unless noted)
Quarterfinals - Friday, May 20
Match 1 – 9:35 a.m.: #1 Saint Leo vs. #8 Wilmington (Del.)
Match 2 – 9:30 a.m.: #4 Lynn vs. #5 Barry (10th hole)
Match 3 – 10:25 a.m.: #2 Chico State vs. #7 West Florida
Match 4 – 10:20 a.m.: #3 Florida Southern vs. #6 Cal Baptist (10th hole)
Semifinals - Friday, May 20
Match 5 – 3:30 p.m.: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2
Match 6 – 4:20 p.m.: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4
Final - Saturday, May 21
Match 7 – 11 a.m.: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6
Head-to-Head Breakdown
(Florida Southern vs. Cal Baptist)
1. Christian Anderson +7 (72-74-77=223) vs. Tai Kuida +11 (75-79-73=227) - 10:20 a.m.
2. Michael VanDerLaan +9 (80-73-72=225) vs. Greg Gonzalez +1 (74-71-72=217) - 10:30 a.m.
3. Jimmy Jones E (72-72-72=216) vs. Christian Sanders +5 (75-76-70=221) - 10:40 a.m.
4. John VanDerLaan -5 (68-73-70=211) vs. Chris Carew +3 (75-68-76=219) - 10:50 a.m.
5. John Coultas -9 (70-68-69=207) vs. Kavan Eubank -7 (69-71-69=209) - 11 a.m.
Notes from Thursday's final round
* - Hugo Bernard is St. Leo's first NCAA champion – team or individual – in any sport. His -13 broke the 54-hole record co-held by Central Oklahoma's Josh Creel and Colorado School of Mines' Jim Knous (2012).
* - St. Leo smashed the 54-hole team record at NCAA Championships at -26, ten strokes under Florida Southern's pace in 1999.
* - Runner-up Calum Hill of Western New Mexico matched the highest-ever finish by a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference golfer at NCAA Championships. His 67 (-5) moved him up four spots from Wednesday.
* - Limestone's Griffin Brown took third place at -10 with a final day 70.
* - West Florida's final-day move was largely thanks to Jacob Huizinga, who bounced back from an opening-round 77 to smash a 65 on Thursday, tied for the low round of the tournament. Huizinga closed T-16, advancing 43 spots in round three.
Team Standings (Top 10)
1. St. Leo (838)
2. Chico State (850)
3. Florida Southern (851)
4. Lynn (858)
5. Barry (858)
6. Cal Baptist (863)
7. West Florida (864)
8. Wilmington (866)
9. Central Oklahoma (867)
10. Dallas Baptist (868)
Individual Final Standings (Top 10)
1. Hugo Bernard, St. Leo (-13, 65-66-72—203)
2. Calum Hill, Western New Mexico (-11, 69-69-67—205)
3. Griffin Brown, Limestone (-10, 69-67-70—206)
4. John Coultas, Florida Southern (-9, 70-68-69—207)
T5. Garrett Fey, Dallas Baptist (-8, 73-66-69—208)
T5. Mateo Gomez, Lynn (-8, 70-69-69—208)
T5. Richard Mansell, Nova Southeastern (-8, 69-68-71—208)
T8. John Clare, Le Moyne (-7, 69-72-68—209)
T8. Kavan Eubank, Cal Baptist (-7, 69-71-69—209)
T8. Liam Ainsworth, St. Leo (-7, 71-70-68—209)
Round 3 Low Rounds (Par 72)
Jacob Huizinga, West Florida - 65
Calum Hill, Western New Mexico – 67
Justin Wiles, Chico State – 67
