Men's Golf News

Stormy Petrels #1 in Nation

The aspect of college golf that makes it so exciting is the fact that it is a true team sport.  Other than the Ryder Cup and similar events, practically all golf played in the US is stroke play and focuses only on individual results.  The current Oglethorpe University men’s golf team has managed to consolidate their amazing group of individual talents to produce outstanding team results.

In the most recent Golf World/Nike Golf Division III Coaches’ Poll, released on November 9, Oglethorpe is tied for first place with Methodist University. 

The Stormy Petrels played five tournaments this fall.  They obtained two wins, one second place finish and two third place finishes.  They got those third place finishes out of the way early on in the season at the Tunica National Golf Course in Tunica, MS, and at the Bryan Park Golf Course, just north of Greensboro, NC. 

A week later, on October 7, the Petrels traveled back to Greensboro, and this time they played on the Greensboro Country Club’s Farm Course, as part of the Tom O’Briant Memorial.  They won this event for the first time in Oglethorpe school history.  OU had obtained second place in this tournament five of the previous six years that they had played.

The men’s team did not have that much time to revel in the glory of winning it, as they were on their way to the next tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC, a mere three days later.  They were able to continue their outstanding form and win the prestigious Gordin Collegiate Classic.

Men’s golf head coach Jim Owen was overwhelmed with excitement about the Greensboro win: “The Tom O’Briant tournament had been an anomaly for so long, with us playing well up there for so long and finishing second every time.  It was sweet to finally win it.”  When asked about the Gordin tournament, Owen explained, “The event invites only the top 12 teams in the nation so it’s very competitive.  This was our seventh consecutive appearance, and we finally won it.

The Petrels closed out the fall season by hosting the Oglethorpe/Royal Lakes Invitational at the end of October.  After the first round, OU held the lead with a one over, 285 score.  In the second and final round, Oglethorpe was feeling confident about the win as they shot another excellent 287.  Guilford College, however, whom OU had lead by seven after day one, shot a tournament best six under par 278 to overtake Oglethorpe and win by two.

Statistics paint a very accurate picture of the reasons for Oglethorpe outstanding success this season.  One of those is the fact that the men’s team has shattered the season scoring average mark with 292.20 stroke average.  This means that there are four players averaging 73 each, per round.  This number puts them first in the nation for stroke average.  A testimony to the tremendous depth of the team is the fact that Oglethorpe also has the lowest dropped score, which is the score which the team chooses to leave out, as only four scores are factored into the stroke average.  The Petrels have played 13 of the top 25 teams in the country, and they boast a nation’s best 13-0 against these teams. 

Another astounding statistic is how close the top five players are in their scoring averages.  From the top scorer to the lowest scorer, there are only 1.2 strokes separating them.  David Dilibero leads the charge at 73.3, followed by Taylor Urbanski with 73.6.  Then comes Scott Pugh at 74.1, Hap Kaufold with 74.36, and Matthew Rebitch closes it out with a scoring average of 74.50.

A new feature added by Golfstat last year is called head-to-head player standings within the division.  It is a power ranking system comparing players to each other.  According to this Oglethorpe has all five players ranked within the nation’s top 75.  David Dilibero is currently ranked 11th with an unbelievable win loss record 1185-27 against the rest of the country.  Urbanski is close behind at 16th, with a 1179-33 record.  Scott Pugh is at 20th with a record of 1175-37, and the ranking spots for Oglethorpe are filled by Matt Rebitch at 39 and Hap Kaufold at 71.

The stalwart statistic in the men’s golf portfolio, however, is greens in regulation.  Coach Jim Owen commented, “Our ability to hit greens is what separates us from our rivals.”  The team leads the nation with a remarkable .660 per cent.  As a team they average hitting 12 of 18 greens in regulation per person.

Individually, sophomore David Dilibero is ranked second nationally in greens in regulation at .722; senior Taylor Urbanski is sixth at .683 and sophomore Scott Pugh is ninth at .650. 

Oglethorpe is second nationally in putts at 1.904 and in total short game at .519.  The Petrels finished this first half of the year third nationally in fairways hit at .643 and par 3 scoring at 3.20.  Urbanski is ranked in the top 10 in the nation for the fourth consecutive year in fairways hit.

The men’s golf team will now take a break for the holidays, but are raring to go for the spring, when they will have high hopes.  They have won the SCAC Conference six times and the Camp Lejeune tournament three times, and they will be looking to win those two tournaments again next semester.  Coach Owen is very optimistic about their chances in the NCAA tournament in May: “We have made eight appearances in the NCAAs and this team has the depth, maturity and focus to win the big one.”  Owen also added, “This year’s event is near Atlanta at Chateau Elan.”