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SALEM, Ore. – The Point Loma Nazarene University men's golf team, in its final NAIA National Championship, placed 13th in the 61st annual event held at the Creekside Golf Club.
The Sea Lions shot 298 in the final round of the four-day event, improving its score each day on the tough course. The 10-over par Friday tally equaled the seventh best team score of the day.
Unfortunately, the damage done in earlier rounds was too much to overcome to climb into the top 10 for the ninth-ranked Sea Lions.
PLNU shot 313 on Tuesday, 309 on Wednesday, 303 on Thursday and 298 on Friday. The first three days of the tournament were marked by rain and wind, while Friday's round was played under brilliant blue skies and temperatures in the upper 60's.
"We played a decent final round, but we just had too steep a hill to climb to make up for the rest of the week," said head coach Ben Foster, coaching in his final NAIA National Championship after 39 years at the helm. "We certainly didn't make enough adjustments in the weather, making some poor decisions and some poor shots. I am disappointed that we didn't play better, but that's golf."
Senior Ryan Ellerbrook was Point Loma's top individual finisher with a +10 score of 298, tying him for 18th place. He shot a 75 on Friday. Cole Reese wrapped up the tournament with a 77 and a four-day score of 308 (tied for 61st), followed by Brent Hamilton with a 75 and 309 total, Zane Keith (76-313) and Oscar Casillas (72-316). Casillas' 72 was the top round for the Sea Lions on Friday.
Oklahoma City won the team championship with a shot total of 1,176, followed by Oklahoma Christian at 1,179. The top five included British Columbia in third (1,186), Johnson and Wales FL in fourth (1,187) and Cumberlands TN fifth (1,188).
The champion of the 159-player field was Carson Kallis of Victoria BC. Kallis was tied for fifth when the morning began but shot a blistering 66 to finish five-under for the tournament. One shot back was Texas Wesleyan's Nathan Anderson (71-284) and third place went to Vilhelm Bogstrand of Oklahoma Christian (76-288). Brandon Meltzer (Johnson and Wales ), the tournament leader heading into today, shot an 80 to drop to 289 and fourth place, while Scott Malo of British Columbia completed the top five with a 69 on Friday and a +2 total of 290.
For Coach Foster, who was honored at the post-event award ceremony with a golf flag signed by all the coaches in attendance, it was a bitter-sweet ending. "We didn't play our best golf here, and you always want to do your best in the final event of the year," he said. "We played some holes very well, but also put up some big numbers on others. This course punishes you if you leave the fairway, and between that and the conditions that the weather presented, we just didn't handle it as well as the other teams."
Friday marked the last-ever NAIA championship appearance for PLNU as the team and program makes the switch to NCAA Division II starting this fall. The Sea Lions have reached 22 national championships with ten top-10 finishes. Four individual champions wore the Green and Gold throughout the years.
Each aforementioned team and player was guided by Head Coach Ben Foster. The NAIA National Championships was the final event for Foster who ends his 39-year tenure as head coach. Foster will relinquish the reins of the program to Zack Ponder in 2013, though he will serve the team as Director of Men's Golf for one more season.
THURSDAY'S RECAP
SALEM, Ore. -- Point Loma Nazarene shot 303 during the third round of the 61st annual NAIA Men's Golf National Championships on Thursday. The Sea Lions have a 54-hole total score of 925 and are 16th overall, above the cut list of the top 17 teams that advance to the final round of competition on Friday.
"We played well on the back nine to start the day but on the front nine – which is easier – we played poorly," said PLNU head coach Ben Foster. "That took us out of a chance to move up into the top-10. The good news is that we made the cut; the bad news is that we really can't really move up significantly Friday."
Oklahoma Christian (877) leads by three strokes over Our Lady of the Lake (880) and four better than Oklahoma City (881). Johnson & Wales (882) is within striking distance in fourth place. William Woods (889) is fifth. Twelve teams did not make the final cut.
Brandon Meltzer (J&W) leads the tournament with a 209 total over three rounds. Vihlem Bogstrand (OCU) is second with 212, followed by Nathan Anderson (TWU) with 213.
Ryan Ellerbrock continues his ascension up the leaderboard. The senior has a three-round total of 223 (76-74-73) and is tied for 21st. On Thursday the PLNU senior shot a 1-over 73 and he was the only Sea Lion to play better over the last nine holes. His opening nine score was 2-over, but he was 1-under on the next nine thanks to two birdies and just one bogie.
Cole Reese had a 6-over 78 Thursday and is at 231 (73-80-78) and is tied for 71st at the tournament. Reese shot identical 3-overs on both the front and back nine, with one bogie and one double on each.
Brent Hamilton posted a steady round three, carding a 3-over 75. He didn't post a birdie but only had three bogies. Over three days Hamilton is at 234 (81-78-75) in a tie for 91st.
Zane Keith shot 5-over 77 on Thursday for a three-day 237 (83-77-77) and tie for 108st. He began the day one over and though he had two birdies, he struggled down the stretch with four bogies and a double.
Oscar Casillas also shot a 6-over 78 and is at 244 (85-81-78) over three days of play, sitting in 131st. He began Thursday's round with a one over score and was even on the first hole of the final nine thanks to his third birdie of the day, but he stumbled with a double, a bogie and a triple on the last five holes.
The four-day event is being held at Creekside Golf Club, which has seen its share of poor weather.
"I guess we're not mudders," said Foster. "When the sun doesn't shine we don't seem to be able to handle the elements. Also, this course doesn't seem to suit us for some reason. But it is what it is. We will see what we can do tomorrow."
The Sea Lions tee off starting at 7:40 a.m.
WEDNESDAY'S RECAP
SALEM, Ore. – Ninth-ranked Point Loma Nazarene University shot 309 on Wednesday, in the second round at the 61st annual NAIA Men's Golf National Championships held at Creekside Golf Club. That score is four strokes better than Tuesday's 313, giving the Sea Lions a two-day 622 total. PLNU is in a tie for 13th place alongside Holy Cross (Ind.).
"This is a very hard golf course to play," said PLNU head coach
Ben Foster. "If you make a mistake, it can really hurt you. That's happened to every one of our guys so far. We haven't been able to overcome a bad swing or a bad choice."
Second-ranked Oklahoma Christian (585) sits in first place after 36 holes followed by No. 16 Our Lady of the Lake (591), No. 13 Johnson & Wales (592), No. 8 British Columbia (594), No. 1 Oklahoma City (595) and No. 6 Cumberland (596).
Brandon Meltzer (J&W) headed into the clubhouse with a 65 today and a 138 total, and is four shots better than the next-best golfer. Vihelm Bogstrand (142) of OCU is second with Nathan Anderson (144) of Texas Wesleyan third.
PLNU's top golfer is senior Ryan Ellerbrock, who is tied for 24th place in the 157-player field. Ellerbrock tallied 74 shots on Wednesday and 76 Tuesday for 36-hole 150 total. He started slowly on Tuesday, but made par on the last eight holes. Ellerbrock registered four birdies over the next 18 holes with four bogies and one double.
Cole Reese (153), who started the day tied for sixth after a 73, slipped down the leaderboard after shooting 80 in round two and found himself tied for 40th place. Brent Hamilton (81-78—159) and Zane Keith (83-77—160) are the team's other two scorers, in 92nd and 103 place respectively. Oscar Casillas (85-81—166) is in a tie for 136th place.
"It's not fun out there right now," said Foster. "The course is tough enough but when you factor in the wind and the rain, it becomes a grind mentally. The guys are playing defensively right now, not offensively. It's not going to be any different today [Thursday]."
Though 37 strokes back of the leaders, the Sea Lions look to be in good shape to make the cut after Thursday's round. The top 17 teams advance, as do the top 40 individuals. All 29 teams tee off Thursday morning. PLNU will take to the course at 12:20 pm.
"We are 13th, but we are one or two bad holes from dropping down a few spots," said Foster. "Everyone of our players have had at least one really bad hole. We need to be tough and stay mentally sharp."
TUESDAY'S RECAP
SALEM, Ore. – (Day One Results) The 61st annual NAIA Men's Golf National Championships hosted by FORE! Salem kicked off Tuesday at Creekside Golf Club under gray skies, as players fought through rain and wind with the University of Victoria (B.C.) holding a one-stroke lead after the tournament's opening 18 holes.
Rain backed up tee times and caused a brief delay of the tournament's opening round. Weather also affected play with No. 9-ranked Point Loma Nazarene shooting 313 to tie for 13th place out of 29 squads.
The No. 17-ranked Vikes carded a combined team total of 8-over 296 and are one-stroke ahead of No. 1-ranked Oklahoma City and defending national champions Oklahoma Christian, as the Stars and Eagles each posted opening scores of 9-over 297. Rounding out the Top 5 teams are William Woods (Mo.) and Johnson & Wales (Fla.), who are tied for fourth place with identical scores of 10-over 298.
Individually, Texas Wesleyan's Nathan Anderson posted the best round of the opening day with a 2-under 70 that included three birdies over his first four holes before shooting a combined 1-over par on his final 14 holes. The 5-foot-10 junior leads the field by one stroke over Oklahoma Christian's Vilhelm Bogstrand (71, -1) and a trio of players that includes Johnson & Wales' Colin Brennan, Victoria's Darren Hupfer, and Morningside's (Iowa) Brandon Thompson at even-par 72.
Cole Reese leads the Green and Gold with a solid one-over 73 and is tied for sixth place in the 157-player field. Reese, the team's No. 5 golfer, carded four birdies and five bogies over the opening 18 holes.
Sea Lion Ryan Ellerbrock shot 76 and is tied for 38th place. The PLNU senior started slowly but made par on the last eight holes. Brent Hamilton shot 81 and is tied for 97th; Zane Keith went in the clubhouse with an 83 and is tied for 114th and Oscar Casillas, the team's drop score Tuesday, is tied for 135th after an 85.
William Woods' Morgan Hough and Our Lady of the Lake's (Texas) John Mulholland would provide the highlights of the day with a pair of hole-in-ones. Hough's ace came in the morning wave, as the senior registered his first-ever hole-in-one on the par-3, 176-yard sixth hole. In the afternoon wave, Mulholland from Melbourne, Australia, would drain the first ace of his career on the par-3, 161-yard 11th hole to book-end the unusual feat of two hole-in-ones in the same day in national championship play.
The second round will be played on Wednesday, May 23rd, at Creekside Golf Club in Oregon's Capital City with tee times beginning at 7:00 a.m. PDT on Hole No. 1 and 7:20 a.m. on Hole No. 10. PLNU's first golfer tees off at 8:20 a.m.
