Georgia Northwestern sophomore All-Americans Chase Cole and Jordan Estes finished tied for low medalist honors at the Reinhardt University Invitational on Tuesday.
Unfortunately, the shared award had to serve as something of a consolation prize.
Leading by three strokes after Monday’s opening round, the Bobcats fizzled down the stretch and were caught and passed for the team championship by the host Eagles.
Georgia Northwestern matched Monday’s team score of 294, giving them a final number of 12-over par 588 for the 36-hole event.
But Reinhardt, who shot a 297 in the first round, blistered the Callahan Golf Links layout on Tuesday by shooting a 3-under 285 and finished the tournament at 6-over 582.
All five RU golfers shot 73 or better on the par-72 layout in the second round with Brandon Price and Evans Nichols each fired a 2-under 70.
After Monday’s rain, the Bobcats were able to take advantage of the soft playing conditions and made the turn at 2-under par as a team. However, they had trouble on Nos. 7, 8 and 9 - their final three holes of the day – and had to settle for the runner-up finish.
“We kind of gave it away over the last three holes,” head coach Jared Willerson lamented. “Reinhardt played well today on their home course, but we had a guy go bogey, bogey, double bogey on those three holes and another go par, bogey, bogey. That’s six shots and that’s what we lost by.”
Cole backed up Monday’s 71 with a 72 and Estes finished with a 73 on Tuesday after an opening round 70. Freshman Tucker Venable went 77-76, while sophomore Grant Allen shot a 76 and a 77. Another sophomore, Lanier Guest, made the biggest improvement with a 73 after Monday’s 81.
“It goes to show you how much Chase and Jordan can fight with their backs against the wall,” Willerson explained. “Chase started out 2-over on the front nine and bounced back to shoot 2-under on the back to get it back to even on the day. Jordan’s been having a problem with his ankle and it kind of bothered him the last few holes, especially having to sit and wait to play, and it kind of caught up to him.
“Lanier played well today. I was really proud of his 73, but we’ve got to find some other people that are willing to step up and shoot that low score when we need it so we don’t have to rely on Chase and Jordan all the time.”
In a tournament loaded with NAIA squads, SCAD-Atlanta finished third with a 604, followed in the top five by Bryan College (607) and Truett-McConnell (621). The rest of the field was filled out by Brewton-Parker (627), Montreat (628), Bluefield (631), Georgia Military College (647) and Oxford-Emory (671). Hiwassee College had two players withdraw on Tuesday and did not have enough individual finishers to record a team score.
“Obviously, I’m proud of how we finished, but I’m just a little disappointed in the result right now because we were right there and we had the tournament in our hands,” Willerson added. “I think we just have to learn that we have to do a better job managing our games down the stretch and making some smarter decisions. It’s just little things, but those little things add up to a lot in golf.”