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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2009 |
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How Sweet it Is! Golfers Claim School's First Ever National Championship
The Oglethorpe University men’s golf team won the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship held at the PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Stormy Petrels erased a four stroke deficit on the final day of the tournament to claim the school’s first NCAA title in any sport.
Oglethorpe chased down Methodist University, the 54-hole leader, and held off a charging University of La Verne to earn the Championship win. The Petrels finished with a four day total of 12-over par 1164 to best La Verne who came in at 16-over par 1168.
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Oglethorpe sophomore Olafur Loftsson (Reyjakvic, Iceland) fired a final round 3-under par 69 to come from behind to win individual medalist honors at the Championship. Loftsson finished in a tie with La Verne’s Mitchell Fedorka and bested him on the first playoff hole to win the Arnold Palmer award for tournament medalist. For the four day tournament, Loftsson finished with a score of 285, good for 3-under par.
Stormy Petrel freshman Colin Chapman (Franklin, North Carolina) fired a final round of 1-under par and finished in a tie for 11th place overall. Oglethorpe junior Scott Pugh (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) carded a tournament total of 296 (8-over) to finish in a tie for 15th place while senior Hap Kaufold (Albany, Georgia) came home with a total of 298 to finish tied for 27th place. Freshman Matt Bernstein (Atlanta, Georgia) carded a four day total of 305 and finished tied for 51st.
Oglethorpe head golf coach Jim Owen, a fifteen year veteran coaching the team, said, “This is a great day for Oglethorpe athletics. I could not be more proud of our guys for bringing home the school’s first championship. They certainly earned it with their stellar play on the course.”
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