LAURINBURG, NC — Leading the Coker College Cobras (611) to victory over the St. Andrews Knights (631) was sudden-death, event champion Jake Murphy (Hamilton, N.J.). The two-day, dual match competition began at the Deercroft Golf Club in Wagram, North Carolina on Saturday and ended with final round play commencing on the 6,527 yard, par 72 layout of Scotch Meadows Country Club in Laurinburg, North Carolina.

Coker teammates Jake Murphy (72-79/151) and Josh Clay (Stark County, Ohio) (76-75) joined St. Andrews golfer Rafael Garcia (74-77/151) of Puebla, Mexico for a sudden-death playoff on the 462-yard, par 5 eighteenth hole.  With all three players tee shots landing in trouble Cobra golfer Jake Murphy made par to earn his win over Garcia’s bogey.  Clay’s ball found the lateral hazard off the tee box and then landed in a greenside hazard on his third shot to drown his chances for an individual win.  

St. Andrews tried to close the scoring gap by firing 312 today, just two-shots back of Coker’s 310 final round team total. 

Overcast and windy conditions added to the challenge as Coker from juniors Jared Crane (Greenville, S.C.) (73-80/153) and Diego Polo (Guatemala City, Guatemala) (80-76/156) helped guide the team victory. Ben Conroy (Durham, Conn.) shot 81-80, while Coker freshmen individuals rounded out the Cobra scoring with Josh Rogers (Lexington, S.C.) shooting 76-79; Will DiIanni (Altavista, Va.) shot 82-79; Nolan Dorner (Ninety Six, S.C.) fired 83-78 and Matt Kreider (Westlake, Ohio) shot 81-82.

The Coker Cobras will compete next at the Greenwood Country Club in the Bearcat Invitational hosted by Lander University on March 28-29.