Gorloks Season Concludes At Nationals
The Webster University men's golf season came to a close here Wednesday afternoon after narrowly missing the cut by 13 strokes at the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championships to finish in 27th place overall with a 620 for 36 holes at the Grandover Resort.
Webster, who was looking to make the cut for the second consecutive season, opened Wednesday's action by completing the first round after play was suspended Tuesday due to weather. With Tuesday's suspended play, Wednesday's second round began with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. ET.
The Gorloks, who played from on the Grandover Resort's West Course in the second round, followed up its first round 308 by shooting a 312 in the second round. The number Webster needed to make the cut was 31-over par, which is what Rhodes College shot to stand in 18th place after two rounds of play.
After 36 holes of play, Guilford sits alone atop the leaderboard as they followed up its 5-under par 283 in the first round by shooting a seven-over par 295 in the second round to push their team total to a 2-over 578 for 36 holes. Washington & Lee and Methodist are tied for second as they have shot a 5-over 581 through 36 holes. In the second round, Washington & Lee fired a 1-over 289 and Methodist shot an 11-over 299 in the second round.
Leading the way for the Gorloks on Tuesday was junior Will Murphy (Staunton, Ill./Mount Olive), who fired a 3-over 75 in the second round to push his 36 hole score to 151 and finish in a tie for 65th place. Murphy fired a 4-over par 76 in the first round.
Otterbein's Austin Wells carded a second round score of 4-under par 68 to jump eight spots up the leaderboard to take over the lead among individuals with a 5-under 139 through 36 holes. Wittenburg's Ryan Mallette and Washington & Lee's Brian Peccie are tied for second after shooting a 4-under 140 for 36 holes.
The top 18 teams and six individuals not on one of those 18 teams qualified for the final 36 holes of the NCAA Division III National Championships after Wednesday's second round.
In addition to Murphy, junior Brian Morris (Shorewood, Wis./Carthage) followed up his first round 78 by shooting a 4-over 76 in the second round to finish tied for 94th place with a 154 for 36 holes.
Webster's third finisher at the Division III National Championships was sophomore Zac Ciesla (Lake Charles, La./Alfred M. Barbe) who fired a second round score of 78 to finish in a tie for 113th place after carding a 156 for 36 holes. Ciesla also fired a 78 in the opening round.
The Gorloks fourth finisher was freshman Will Hocker (Grapevine, Texas/University of Oklahoma), who shot a disappointing 85 in the second round after carding a 4-over 76 in the first round to finish tied for 161st place with a 161 for 36 holes. Hocker's second round was his worst of the season and only the second time this year the First-Team PING All-Central Regional selection shot over 80 in a round this season.
Webster's fourth counter in the second round and its fifth finisher overall was sophomore Cole Pickett (Greenville, Ill./Keiser University) as he carded a 171 for 36 holes to finish in tie for 264th place. Pickett shot an 88 in the first round but rebounded to fire an 83 in the second round. Pickett's second round score counted towards Webster's team total as they dropped Hocker's 85 in the second round.
The Gorloks qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships for the second consecutive season and sixth time in school history after taking home the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship for the second straight year on April 23-24 at Timber Lakes Golf Club in Staunton, Ill. During the season, Webster won two tournament titles and finished in the Top 6 in three other events. Along with winning the SLIAC Championships, Webster also took home first place honors during the fall season at the Culver's Edgewood College Fall Classic.
Webster, who is coached by SLIAC Coach of the Year Andrew Belsky, returns all five of the golfers that competed at this year's Division III National Championships.
STORY COURTESY OF WEBSTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION