Weather to Play a Factor in Tournament Setup
NELLYSFORD, Va. --- The 2017 ODAC Men's and Women's Golf Championships are set to return to Wintergreen Resort and Stoney Creek Golf Course in Nellysford, Va., this weekend in Virginia's central mountain region. Championship play is slated for a play of 54-hole tournaments beginning on Sunday, April 23 and concluding on Tuesday, April 25.
Weather will certainly be a concern for the athletes from the conference's 11 men's programs and eight women's teams as heavy rains have already forced tournament officials to alter the championship format. All 85 competitors will open the first round of competition with shotgun starts over the championships course layouts. Each of the men's groups will tee off at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the women's groups will hit the links at 10:30 a.m. ET
Any further schedule updates for Sunday and/or other days of the championship will be communicated as appropriate.
Stoney Creek features three nine-hole courses, each of which will be utilized by conference golfers during the championship. The women's continget will begin each round on the Tuckahoe nine and finish on the Monocan course. Each women's round will be played to a par of 72 at a set of distances surrounding 5,800 yards. The men's championship will start on the Monocan nine and conclude each round on the Shamokin course. The men's layouts will also play to a par of 72 with custom layouts set around 6,800 yards.
RELATED: Stoney Creek G.C. | Competing Lineups | Men's Hole Assignments | Women's Hole Assignments
LIVE SCORING: Men | Women
Sunday's opening round will kickoff the fifth ODAC women's championship as the conference's newest sport continues to grow in ranks. Bridgewater captured its first team crown in 2016 by 27 strokes over Washington and Lee, posting team rounds of 331, 330, and a tournament-best 313 on the way to a 974 total.
W&L's Mary-Frances Hall collected individual medalist honors after a showdown with 2016 ODAC Golfer of the Year, Christina Herbert. Hall picked up two strokes on her counterpart with a birdie on #16 and a bogey by Herbert. Hall gave back her one stroke edge with a bogey on the par-3 17th, but recaptured the advantage of the par-5 18th to secure the individual championship. Hall carded a three-round 225 (77-77-71) to finish at 9-over par. Herbert chimed in at 10-over 226 (77-77-72), while teammate Marin Warring finished third at 15-over 231 (82-76-73).
Three athletes slated to compete in the women's championship are slotted inside the top-100 in NCAA Division III by Golfstat. BC's Herbert is currently sixth in the country with an ODAC-best 73.8 stroke average. W&L's Hall is slotted 35th (78.1), while fellow General Griffin Foultz is ranked 91st (81.2). W&L's Liza Freed, who won't be able to compete this weekend due to injury, is seventh in the country (75.8).
Washington and Lee owns the best women's team average at 318.9, helping them to a #17 national ranking. Bridgewater is slotted 41st (329.2), while Randolph-Macon College owns a #74 ranking (348.6). Shenandoah completes the full team contingent with a 111th-ranking (381.7).
The 2016 men's tournament saw Washington and Lee lift its 13th overall conference trophy via a 911 (304-302-305) team score for a 12-stroke victory over Guilford (297-317-309). Virginia Wesleyan (302-307-316) finishing just two strokes behind W&L in third place.
We'll have a new individual champion in 2016 as former VWC standout Evan Cox coasted to a 9-stroke victory with an even-par 216 (71-74-71). Cox, who qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual participant, turned his ODAC victory in a national championship as he claimed individual honors at the Division III tournament. W&L's Luke Farley finished second at 9-over 225 (72-76-77), and teammate Todd Alan McDonald (79-71-78) joined former Shenandoah competitor Evan Cocke (78-72-78) tied for third at 12-over 228.
Entering the weekend, five men's competitors are ranked inside the top-100 by Golfstat. W&L's Robert Quinilty leads the way with a national 27th ranking thanks in part to an ODAC-best 74.4 average. Hampden-Sydney College's Parker Smith (75.5) is 33rd in the country, while W&L's Brian Peccie (74.5) sits 34th. The Guilford duo of Zach Evens (74.6) and Josh Hill (75.4) are 64th and 90th, respectively.
Three of the ODAC's 11 competing squads are ranked inside the top-25. Washington and Lee leads the way in the 14th position, while Guilford stands 19th in the country and Hampden-Sydney slots in 24th.
Live scoring will be available for both the men’s and women’s events thru Golfstat. For more information, visit the websites of the any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC’s championship website. Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
*Golfstat's rankings are current as of 4/22/17; the rankings are weighted based on a formula and do not use straight average to determine rank position.