By: Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications
POWELLS POINT, N.C. – The St. Bonaventure men's golf team finished the fall season in fine fashion this week, placing in a tie for third in a stacked field at the ODU/OBX Invitational played on Kilmarlic Golf Club.
The Bonnies put together stellar rounds of 296-282-279 for an 857 total which tied with William & Mary as well as Drake for a podium position in the 15-team field, eight shots back of Georgetown and James Madison. JMU took the overall crown in a sudden death playoff victory.
Bona received strong performances throughout the lineup, led by underclassmen.
Freshman Nicolas Gaughan capped an outstanding week of competition with his collegiate best in Tuesday's final round. He carded 4-under 67 to finish in red figures for the week (-1) at the 6,578-yard layout. His sparkling final round followed solid turns of 73 on Sunday and 72 in Monday's second round to tie for 10th overall out of 90 players. It marks his second top-10 of the season.
Sophomore Colin Barber and junior Dante Bertoni each tied for 18th in the field, 2-over for the tournament.
After an opening round 75, Barber capped his fall on a high note with back-to-back rounds of 1-under 70. Bertoni found red figures in Sunday's opener as he carded 70, followed by a second round 74 and final tally of 71. Bertoni made his move on the par 4s, playing them 1-under for the week for one of the best marks in the field.
Freshman Mitchell Sargent turned in the low round of the week for the Bonnies as he made a run at the school record for the second time in as many tournaments.
In Monday's round, he drained seven birdies on the way to a 5-under card of 66, just one off the program record and also matching his collegiate best first set just two weeks ago at Bucknell. He wound up tying for 34th after a first round 78 and final round 74, 5-over for the tournament.
Sargent played the par 3s in a field-best 4-under for the week, better than any other player. His 13 overall birdies also tied Bertoni for the third-most in the field behind only Luke Mosley of East Carolina (15) and Gavin Dosch of La Salle (14). Gaughan was next on the team with 10 birdies on the week.Â
Also in the lineup for the Bonnies was junior Braddock Damore (78-80-71).
A regular participant in the ODU/OBX Invitational, the finish marked the program's first top-10 standing in the event. Tuesday's final round also tied for the team's second-best round of the fall.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH PATRICK DAMORE
"Every year, this is the strongest field event of the season for us, including A10s. The field is full of some extremely tough teams. We have traditionally finished in the bottom of the field here. We've had a very successful fall, and this week continued that – and shows our team's potential.
"Our team is young, deep and very talented. We have multiple freshmen that have a strong case for the A10 All-Rookie Team if their play continues at this rate come March. Mitchell and Nicolas are playing great golf. Colin has been a rock. We've been working on Dante's swing change for 18 months and it is now bearing fruit; we're excited for him. Braddock's weaknesses his freshman year are now becoming his strengths. We have a lot to be excited for in the future with this team."
UP NEXT
The fall season now complete, Bona's next official competition will tee up the spring championship season with a trip to the Ross Collegiate Invitational at Mid-Pines Golf Club March 8-10.
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