FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1 , 2007 |
|
Men Rally to Claim Swords at Camp Lejeune
Stormy Petrels erase a 12 stroke deficit for the win
April 1st, 2007
Marine Base Camp Lejeune
Jacksonville, NC
Oglethorpe trailed Shorter College by twelve strokes after the first two rounds played on both the Par 72 Gold Course and the Par 70 shorter Scarlet Course. Ironically, Shorter built its twelve stroke lead playing as “partners” with Oglethorpe in the Pro-Am format that the Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate uses for the first 36 holes. The unique format has one Shorter College player and one Oglethorpe player and an active duty or retired marine from the Military Base at Camp Lejeune paired together with the collegians playing a 54 hole stroke play tournament while they are “teamed” together in a 36 hole best ball Pro Am. The first two days Shorter/Oglethorpe and their marines were teamed together and while the “best ball” program format played out, Shorter built a six stroke lead over 2nd place Savannah College of Art and Design. There were seven other teams within twelve strokes of the lead making the Sunday Final the largest most bunched group of teams at or near the top in over ten years. Ten teams were within striking distance as daybreak broke on Sunday morning in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
The 36 hole Pro Am Awards Banquet and a wonderful meal at the Officer’s Club on Saturday night closed the 36 hole portion of the event for the Marines and leaves only the collegians. On Sunday the event splits into two separate 54 hole tournaments. A championship event on the Gold Course with the top 16 teams from the first two rounds and a consolation event on the Scarlet Course with teams in places 17 through 32.
Oglethorpe freshman Ryan Peters fired a three under par 69 in the final round and senior Danny Swanick and junior Taylor Urbanski backed him up with a 73 and a 72 in their final rounds to put Oglethorpe in position to win. A pair of freshman playing in the four and five spots, giving OU three freshmen in the lineup for the first time in over ten years, were the first scores in for Oglethorpe on Sunday afternoon. David Dilibero carded an eighty that would not count in the scoring for day three. Playing right behind him was Scott Pugh who was three over with three to play but bogeyed his sixteenth (hole #7) and seventeenth (hole #8) holes before making a closing birdie on his final hole to give him a four over par 76 and the chase to the finish was on.
Urbanski, who won at Jekyll last weekend, had battled all weekend some tough bounces but had hung tough and in the final round when they needed him was at even par standing on the final tee box. Urbanski parred the last hole to finish at par 72 and the Petrels were now waiting on two more scores.
As the scores from the lead group, playing the front nine first, began being posted it became apparent that there were six or seven teams realistically within five strokes of each other. When Peters finished par-birdie-par to post a three-under 69 Oglethorpe was now in a group of just a handful of schools that could win. “We knew with the difficulty of their traditional course set up on Sunday, if we were patient, and did not force the issue, and give ourselves impossible recovery situations the leaders ‘might’ come back to us,” comments Coach Jim Owen. “We were down twelve to the leaders and had six more schools between us and the leaders so we knew what we were capable of but also were aware we would need the other teams to come back
to us as well. Our thought process was to go out and play our game and see if the leaders gave us a chance to win a third set of swords,” Owen continued. Coach Owen was walking down the third hole of the day on Sunday with co-captain Taylor Urbanski. Urbanski pulled him aside and said, “remind all the freshman again, if they will stay with their game plan based on what I have seen so far we can come back and steal this thing.” How right he was.
Senior Danny Swanick, who was at or under par all three days, was -2 under on his first nine holes for the day and in the middle of the group of individuals playing for medalist honors and their own set of swords. In 2006 Oglethorpe senior Joe Green took home the Sword and Scabbard for winning medalist honors and Danny was looking to make it two in a row for Oglethorpe.
As the last scores were being posted it was apparent it was going to be a very close finish. Swanick hit the green on his last hole in regulation but left his first putt about four and a half feet short.
As Danny looked at his par putt, freshman David Dilibero whispered to teammate Scott Pugh that this “little” putt could have huge importance in the day’s events. Swanick sank the part putt and finished his round with a one over 73. That putt was the one stroke, it turns out, OU won by.
Over at the scoreboard, the lead teams were finishing on hole #18 right behind the 9th hole (where Oglethorpe was finishing). “I have been to Camp Lejeune for 11 years and usually the 18th green has the sounds of good rounds closing with roars of approval from teammates”, Owen noted. “It was strangely quiet over there. The only applause was coming from our 9th hole as Methodist finished very strong on Sunday with a 292 to move from sixth place to second and Rhodes played well and finished fourth. Owen told Sgt. Dean Smith, one of the Marines that played with us the first two days, from a distance it does not look like anyone is playing well in the lead groups coming off #18. If they don’t break 300 over there, the winner could come from either us or Methodist.” None of the four teams in the lead going into the final round broke 300 on Sunday and Oglethorpe and Methodist finished 1st and 2nd. The Stormy Petrels played their last three holes as a team at even par closing very strong and passing Methodist by one stroke and Shorter by two. The top five schools were separated by three strokes at the end of the day.
Gold Championship Results
Gold Scarlet Gold Total
1. Nathaniel James* (Washington & Lee) 69 65 71 206 *Won Playoff
2. Ian Hoffman (Flagler) 67 70 69 206
3. Joseph Poplin (Guilford) 71 62 74 207
4. Matt Bova (Methodist) 71 67 71 209
T5. Danny Swanick (Oglethorpe) 69 68 73 210
T5. Alex Lantz (Shorter) 70 67 73 210
T7. David Vanegas (Johnson & Wales) 74 64 73 211
T7. John Jennison (Rhodes) 74 65 72 211
T7. Andrew Herbert (SCAD) 75 66 70 211
10. Ryan Peters (Oglethorpe) 72 71 69 212
Other OU Scores
T16. Taylor Urbanski (Oglethorpe) 77 67 72 216
T56. Scott Pugh (Oglethorpe) 76 74 76 226
T73. David Dilibero (Oglethorpe) 81 73 80 234
GOLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM RESULTS
Gold Scarlet Gold Total
1. Oglethorpe 294 279 290 863
2. Methodist 297 275 292 864
3. Shorter 291 270 304 865
T4. Flagler 298 270 298 866
T4. Rhodes 297 272 297 866
T6. Johnson & Wales 299 269 301 869
T6. SCAD 297 270 302 869
T8. Guilford 297 271 308 876
T8. Webber International 299 281 296 876
10. Ohio Wesleyan 396 277 304 877
|
