College golf: Dalton State men show off championship course at DGCC, finish third in National Championship Preview

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2023

The Dalton State College put the future national championship course on display at Dalton Golf & Country Club as they hosted the nation’s best and came away with a third place finish in the NAIA Preview on Monday and Tuesday.

No. 1 Keiser (880, +16) took the team victory. Cumberland made an impressive comeback as they were 14 shots off the lead after round 1 and 16 shots down entering round 3 but overwhelmingly shot the best round of the day, shooting up the leaderboard to finish second at 886 (+22).

Fourth-ranked Dalton State (887, +23) finished third, with #7 Ottawa (892, +28) in fourth. No. 16 Truett-McConnell (895, +31) was at the top for two rounds but faltered in round 3 to come home fifth.

Dalton Golf & Country Club will host the NAIA Mens’s Golf National Championship this spring.

ROUND 1

Jack Whaley and Jarod Edwards paced the Roadrunners, who posted 290 (+2) and stood in second place. Whaley and Edwards fired 1-under rounds of 71, with Steve Kibare and Brock Hoover carding 2-over 74 as the last two counters. Trevor Bassett shot 6-over 78, with Tyler Latimer shooting 8-over 80 as an individual.

ROUND 2

Whaley shot red figures again with a 70 (-2). Hoover stayed steady with a 3-over 75 as Bassett bounced back to match his score. Edwards was the last counter at 76 (+4), with Kibare at 78 (+6). Latimer played better during Round 2 with a 77 (+5). As a team, the Birds claimed 296 (+8).

ROUND 3

DSC didn’t have their best but stayed in contention until the latter part of the back 9. Edwards led the way with an even-par 72, with Bassett finishing strong at 1-over 73. Kibare ended the tournament with a 5-over 77 as Hoover posted 79 (+7) as the fourth score. Whaley carded 80 (+8) as the last score from the lineup. Latimer held strong with a 76 (+4) for a strong close as Dalton State shot (301, +13).

QUOTES FROM COACH

Dalton State head coach Ben Rickett:

“These last couple of weeks I have learned much about this team. We have played the two more difficult courses we play all season in back-to-back weeks and were very proud of how the guys handled it.”

“Obviously, we were disappointed not winning at home, but we put a solid week together; we just didn’t have our best for the third round.”

“It was great to see a glimpse of how a national championship will play in May at Dalton Golf & Country Club, and it gives us some things to work on in preparation.”

“It will be nice to have a few days off before we finish the semester in Tennessee.”

UP NEXT

Dalton State will get a much-needed two weeks off before they head to Vonore, Tennessee, and the Links at Kahite for the Bojangles Tennessee Intercollegiate on Oct. 21-22.