Dalton State College’s men’s golf team was in a position to win after a stellar second round but fell just short as William Carey protected home turf with the win in the Carey Collegiate Classic at Canebrake Country Club in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on Monday and Tuesday.
No. 24 William Carey (873, +9) took the team crown with No. 3 Lindsey Wilson (879, +15) in second. No. 6 Dalton State (884, +20) was just behind in third with Spring Hill (890, +26) in fourth. No. 25 Point and Reinhardt (891, +27) tied for fifth.
“We continue to play the par fives very well and we are showing lots of promise, but if we are going to compete later in the season we have to be better at minimizing our mistakes,” Dalton State coach Ben Rickett said.
In the first round, the Roadrunners recovered from an early deficit to post a 300 round which tied them for seventh in the standings. Brock Hoover posted the best round with a 1-over 73.
Cole Wentworth was close behind with a 3-over 75 as Steve Kibare carded a 4-over 76. Trevor Bassett shot 76 (+4) alongside Kibare as the counting scores for the round. Gavin Noble posted 78 (+6) as every Roadrunner shot in the 70s for the round.
Round two was a different story as the Roadrunners made their way through the course the second time on the day. As they got more familiar with the course and the conditions, they posted the best round of the tournament to that point with a 4-under 284 to move up to second.
Kibare led the way with a 3-under 69. Wentworth followed his solid play from the first round with a 1-under 71.
Noble and Hoover each shot even-par 72 as the last counters for the round. Bassett had a tough start to his round but recovered with a solid final nine to post 79 (+7).
In the third round on Tuesday, a 1-over 73 from Noble was the best score of the day for the Roadrunners as he jumped up the leaderboard to finish tied for 13th. Hoover collected a top-10 with a tie for eighth finishing with a 3-over 75.
Kibare joined Hoover in the top-10, concluding the tournament with a 4-over 76. Wentworth shot 4-over 76 to match Kibare and snagged a solo 12th place finish. Bassett finished with a 10-over 82.
“The season only gets tougher from here and we’ll have to use the time ahead to continue to improve,” Rickett said.
The sixth-ranked Roadrunners hit the course again on March 27 when they make the annual trek to Okatie, South Carolina, to compete in the Oldfield Classic at Oldfield Golf Club.