Men's Golf Beats Out Nation's No. 1 And No. 2 Teams At McDonough Cup

Men's Golf Beats Out Nation's No. 1 And No. 2 Teams At McDonough Cup

Led by Sebastian Andersen's 4-under-par 68 and Sam Crowther's 2-under-par 70 in the third round, the nationally 24th-ranked Mount Olive College men's golf team beat out three national top 10 teams and soared seven spots to finish fifth at the McDonough Cup at Winter Park, Fla. The Trojans set a school 54-hole team record and finished ahead of nationally top-ranked Barry (Fla.), No. 2 Columbus State and No. 10 Lynn (Fla.) in the 54-hole tournament, which concluded Tuesday. The national rankings are compiled by Golfstat and are based solely on head-to-head competition.

The Trojans were in 15th place out of 16 teams after carding a 300 in Monday morning's first round and followed with a 2-under-par 286 in the second round Monday afternoon to enter Tuesday's play tied for 12th with a 36-hole score of 586. Mount Olive shot a 3-under-par 285 Tuesday to finish with a 54-hole score of 871, only 14 shots out of first place.

Mount Olive's 285 tied for the second-lowest score of the day. Tournament champion and nationally 21st-ranked Armstrong (Ga.) shot a 283 Tuesday and finished with a 54-hole total of 857. No. 17 Lander matched the Trojans' 285 Tuesday and tied with No. 12 Nova Southeastern (Fla.) for second place with an 861. No. 35 Florida Tech finished fourth with an 865.

Andersen, who was tied for 25th out of 84 golfers after 36 holes, finished in a tie for sixth place with a 3-under-par 213 in 54 holes. Andersen carded a 73 in the first round and an even-par 72 in the second round Monday. Andersen became only the seventh golfer in Trojan history to shoot 68 or lower (the school record is 66 by Riley Boyette in 2009) and his 54-hole score is the third lowest in school history, just four shots off the record set by Scott Woodard in 2011. Andersen finished only six shots behind tournament champion Robert Prior of Lander.

Crowder tied for 23rd place, overcoming a first-round 79 with a 69 in the second round. He finished with a 54-hole score of 218. Jesus Valderrama shot his third consecutive 74 and tied for 48th with Mark O'Hara (76-71-75—222). Dalton Gore (77-74-73—224) tied for 53rd.

Mount Olive beat the previous school 54-hole record by 11 shots. The Trojans shot an 882 in the Golfweek Invitational February 27-March 1, 2011, in Orlando, Fla.

The McDonough Cup was Mount Olive's fall season finale. The Trojans begin their spring season in February.