Men's Golf | 4/12/2022 4:45:00 PM
LAKELAND, Fla. -- After leading through two rounds, the top-ranked Barry Buccaneers ran away with their fifth Sunshine State Conference men's golf championship at Grassland Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, Fla., on Tuesday.
Barry set a conference-tournament scoring record with a -18 (270) on the final round, as all five golfers came in under par for the round. They break of the mark of -16 set by Florida Tech in 2018 on the par-71 Grande Oaks course. The Bucs also tied their own record, set in 2019 at Lake Jovita, for the lowest score to par for 54 holes in the tournament history.
AJ Ewart played one of the most masterful rounds in program history, with a -8 (64) to set the individual single round tournament record. He did not record a single hole over par with 10 pars and eight birdies. His efforts on the day caught teammate Nicolas Quintero and Saint Leo's Jake Nash at -7 for the tournament. After a four-hole playoff, Quintero finally sank a birdie putt to win the individual medal.
In addition to the Bucs, the tournament was a who's who of the best in NCAA Division II, including No. 12 Nova Southeastern, No. 16 Florida Southern, No. 21 Saint Leo, No. 25 Lynn and No. 41 Tampa.
WHAT THEY RE SAYING:
BUCCANEER HIGHLIGHTS:
Nicolas Quintero (-7) (71-69-69--209) T-1st Place (WON PLAYOFF)
- Tied for the tournament lead with 40 pars in 54 holes
- Added nine birdies and an eagle
- Tied for second on par-4 holes
AJ Ewart (-7) (72-73-64--209) T-1st Place
- Led the field in in par-4 scoring
- Even par on par-3s
- Logged 35 pars and 13 birdies
- Broke the conference record for best round to par at -8 (64) in the third round
- Did not record a hole over par in the third round, 10 pars and eight birdies
Felipe Alvarez (-2) (74-71-69--214) T-9th Place
- Had 29 pars
- Led the team and tied for second in the tournament with 14 birdies
- Tied for the team lead in par-5 scoring at -5
Marcus Dahl (-2) (69-75-70--214) T-9th Place
- Tied for sixth with 37 pars and added
- Third on the team in both par-3 and par-4 scoring
Santiago Chamorro (+4) (75-77-68--220) T-29th Place
- Collected 26 pars and three birdies
- Combined to go only +9 on the par-3 and par-5 holes
- 68 in the final round was the second-lowest for the team in the tournament
| Team Leaderboard |
| 1 |
1 Barry |
286-288-270--844 (-20) |
| 2 |
16 Florida Southern |
294-284-279--857 (-7) |
| 3 |
12 Nova Southeastern |
292-288-280--860 (-4) |
| 4 |
21 Saint Leo |
291-284-286--861 (-3) |
| 4 |
25 Lynn |
292-289-283--864 (E) |
| 6 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
289-298-280--867 (+3) |
| 7 |
41 Tampa |
295-290-283--868 (+4) |
| 8 |
Rollins |
289-292-291--872 (+8) |
| 9 |
Embry-Riddle |
308-305-294--907 (+43) |
| 10 |
Florida Tech |
314-301-297--912 (+48) |
| 11 |
Eckerd |
314-322-310--946 (+82) |
NOTEWORTHY:
- Barry led the field in par-3 and par-4 scoring and was second on the par-5s
- The Bucs posted a tournament-best 173 pars and added 55 birdies and two eagles for 230 holes of par or better.
- The Bucs only recorded seven bogeys on the final round, offset by 27 birdies.
- Quintero becomes the third different Buccaneer to capture and individual medal this season, after Ewart and Alvarez.
- Quintero joins Niclas Weiland (2019), Kyle Brey (2017), Adam Svensson (2014), Daniel Stapff (2011), and Carlos Velez (2010) as individual champion.
- The title is the 96th for the Buccaneers overall, and the third this spring after women's tennis (regular season) and women's golf (tournament).
ON THE HORIZON:
With the win the Bucs earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional, May 5-7 at the Kinderlou Forrest GC in Valdosta, Ga., hosted by Valdosta State.
