Quakers Rally to Win Third O'Briant-Jensen Title
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Guilford College rallied
to win its third O'Briant-Jensen Memorial Golf Tournament Tuesday
afternoon at the Cardinal Golf and Country Club. The
tournament-host Quakers swept the top-two places and had three
golfers among the top-13 finishers in the 90-student field.
Methodist University (306-294-600) fell eight strokes shy of its
record seventh O’Briant-Jensen crown and took second in the
17-team field. First-round co-leader Greensboro College
(305-296-601) placed third. Greensboro’s B team shared fourth
place with Bridgewater College and NCAA Division II member King
College at 617.
First-round leader Mat Hennick (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor (Skagit
Valley College)) claimed Guilford’s first medalist honor in
the annual event’s 33-year history by shooting 69-73-142.
Teammate Dusty Roberts (Reidsville, N.C./Rockingham County) carded
a one-under-par 69 Tuesday, his lowest round of the season, and
shared second place with Bridgewater’s Mike Redwood
(70-74-144). Greensboro College’s Ben Nihart finished fourth
at 71-75-146, followed by Methodist’s Robby Bruns (79-69-148)
and Mike Duncan (70-78-148), who shared fifth place.
The Quakers started the day in fourth place, three shots behind
co-leaders Bridgewater and Greensboro and one stroke behind
Methodist. Led by Hennick and Noah Ratner’s three-under 32s,
Guilford made the turn at nine-under as a team. The Quakers’
284 marked the tourney’s low score and sealed their third
title in five fall events. Ratner, ranked third in the Golfstat.com
NCAA Division III Head-to-Head Player Standings, rebounded from a
first-round 83 with a two-under 68 that marked the
tournament’s low round. His 36-hole 151 shared
13th place. Rookie teammate Alex Wise (Eden,
N.C./Carlisle School (Va.)) shaved seven strokes off his
opening-day 81 and shared 26st place at 81-74-155. J.T.
Thomas closed Guilford’s lineup with an 83-81-164 that ranked
61st place.
Hennick made a tournament-best eight birdies, four in both rounds,
one better than Roberts and two more than Ratner. The Quakers made
24 birdies as a team over the 36 holes, seven better than
Methodist. Guilford did its most damage on the Cardinal’s two
par-five holes, averaging 4.80 as a team with four birdies. Roberts
had three birdies on the par-five holes, the longest on the par-70,
7,002-yard layout.
The 23rd annual O'Briant-Jensen Memorial featured three
of NCAA Division III's top-25 teams, according to the Sept. 30
Golf World/NIKE Golf Division III Coaches’ Poll,
including three of the top-seven squads. Top-ranked Greensboro,
third-ranked Greensboro and seventh-ranked Guilford made this a
challenging fall tournament. Six schools were ranked among the
top-32 teams in the Oct. 20 Golfstat.com Division III Head-to-Head
Standings.
The O'Briant-Jensen returned to the renovated Pete Dye-designed
Cardinal Golf and Country Club in 2008 following two years at the
Greensboro Country Club. Guilford first hosted the tournament from
1978-87 when it was called the Guilford College Invitational. It is
named for longtime Guilford golf supporters Tom & Bettie
O’Briant as well former Guilford golf mentor Jack Jensen, who
died suddenly last March in the midst of his 33rd season
as the Quakers’ golf coach.
This release is courtesy of the Guilford College sports
information department.