BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. --- Both the conference team and individual championships featured drama with the final few holes deciding the winners of the 2021 ODAC Men's Golf Tournament. Guilford College edged Hampden-Sydney College by two strokes to claim its league-record 18th conference title. Tigers junior Hunter Martin denied the Quakers their fourth straight individual champion by securing medalist honors by one stroke over 2019 champion James Mishoe.
After a rainy practice round on Saturday, conditions were ideal for strong championship play at Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center north of Greensboro, N.C. The tournament included 54 holes of competition -- 27 on each day -- on the par-72 layout set to 6,895 yards on the Champions Course.
Guilford, which last won the conference title in 2018 as the second part of a back-to-back effort, earns the ODAC's automatic entry into the NCAA Division III Tournament slated for May 11-14 at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va. The tournament's full field will be announced on May 3 or 4, 2021.
RELATED: Men's Championship Results
H-SC's Martin fired a 1-over 73 in the opening round to tie with several players two shots off the pace set by teammate John Hatcher Ferguson after the opening 18 holes. Martin began his climb to the top in round two, which started with nine holes on Sunday and the remaining nine holes Monday morning. He shot a 3-under 69 to sit at 2-under 142 following 36 holes and carry a four stroke lead over Mishoe into the final 18 holes.
Martin would need every bit of that cushion as well as a second straight 69 to hold off the nation's second ranked men's player. Mishoe fired a tournament-low 6-under 66 that featured seven birdies as he eyed a second-straight ODAC title. But it was Martin's final birdie that would prove decisive. He sunk a downhill 12-footer on the final hole to put him in the clubhouse at 5-under par for the tournament. Mishoe had a chance to tie Martin with a birdie on #18, but he parred the 54th hole to leave Martin alone in first place.
Martin posted a tournament-high 14 birdies on the way to his 5-under 211. He and Mishoe (212) were the only two players under par with W&L's Pierce Robinson and Caleb Choe placing third and fourth at 6-over 222 (73-78-71) and 7-over 224 (75-74-74), respectively. Bridgewater's Ronnie Uszenski (75-75-74) and Hampden-Sydney's Meade Slonaker (76-73-75) and Ferguson (71-76-77) tied for fifth at 8-over 224.
Guilford, Hampden-Sydney, and Washington and Lee each posted sub-900 team totals to represent the top-three finishers. Guilford, the #1 rated team in Division III by Golfstat, trailed W&L and H-SC by six shots and one stroke, respectively, after an opening 299. By the end of round two, the Quakers trailed the Tigers by two shots at 591-to-593 with the Generals eight strokes back at 599. Guilford fired a 3-over 291 over the final 18 holes to overtake Hampden-Sydney and capture a two-stroke victory at 884-to-886. Washington and Lee finished at 897.