May 23, 2024
Cobras Surge to 3rd Place; Make Match Play at Nationals!
WINTER GARDEN, FL -- Only eight teams remain in contention to win the NCAA DII Men's Golf National Championship, and Coker is one of them.
The veteran Cobras, ranked 18th nationally, fired a 5-under par 276 Thursday in the third and final round on the Crooked Cat Course at Orange County National to finish tied for third with 15th-ranked Central Oklahoma in the 20-team field.
Coker, who was sixth after two rounds, rolled in 19 birdies and had one eagle to climb up the leaderboard and set the school 54-hole record at 6-under par. The Cobras fired 283 (-1), 284 (E), and 279 (-5) on the 7,419-yard, par-71 layout. Central Oklahoma won the tiebreaker for the third seed since its cumulative drop score from each day totaled +12, compared to +13 for Coker.
The eight remaining teams will engage in Medal Match Play starting at 7:30 a.m. Friday. Medal Match means that two players go head-to-head for 18 holes, with the player with the lowest score earning a point for his team. Five points are available in each match.
The eight teams advancing include No. 7-ranked West Florida (-14), No. 6 Oklahoma Christian (-13), Central Oklahoma (-6), Coker (-6), No. 1 North Georgia (-1), No. 5 Colorado Christian (E), No. 24 Wingate (+1) and No. 23 West Texas A&M (+1).
Fourth-seeded Coker will face off with fifth-seeded North Georgia starting at 8:20 Friday morning off the 10th tee. The National Quarterfinal winners will then play in the semifinals in the afternoon on Friday. The National Championship match is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
"Our guys played great today," Coker head coach John Hackney said. "There was a lot at stake and they handled the pressure and heat (94 degrees) like pros. We only had one double bogey among our five players and they hit some sensational shots. We are hot at the right time and we are just three rounds from winning the National Championship. Tomorrow will be a real endurance test, both mentally and physically, since we have already played 72 holes (counting the practice round) in the last four days, but our guys are poised and ready."
Coker senior Jonathan Hallinger (Sweden) finished off a great 54 holes with five birdies and a 4-under 68, as did senior teammate Caleb Tidd, whose 68 included four birdies and an eagle on No. 14. Hallinger finished tied for sixth at 68-72-68--208, just seven shots off the pace of West Texas A&M freshman Wyatt Provence, the individual NCAA Champion who shot 67-66-68--201. Provence was named the NCAA Freshman of the Year and was joined on the 10-man All-Tournament team by Hallinger.
Tidd finished tied for 12th at 73-69-68--210. He and Hallinger, who tied for medalist at the SAC Championships, will make one of the DII All-America teams (to be announced later) because of finishing in the top 15.
Coker senior Aaron Teece of Texas had four birdies in an excellent round of 2-under 69 while super senior Killian Ryan (England) and junior Derek McGlaughlin (Pennsylvania) each notched three birdies and shot 74. Teece finished tied for 33rd in the 108-man field at 76-70-69--215 (+2), Ryan tied for 45th at 70-73-74--217 (+4) and McGlaughlin was tied for 77th at 72-76-74--222 (+9)
For the 54 holes, Coker finished 7th in par-3 scoring at +8, 5th in par-4 scoring at +19, tied for 5th in par-5 scoring at -20, sixth in birdies with 51, and tied for first in eagles with 3.
"We have finished second in the SAC Championships to the No. 2 nation, second in the South-Southeast Super Regional to No. 1 North Georgia, and now tied for 3rd in the stroke play portion of our National Championship, so we are playing some superb golf right now," Hackney said. "I am really proud of our veteran team and can't wait to see what they do the next two days."