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FORE Georgia

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Hiller Medals, Karman Runner-Up as No. 4 Petrels Win West Pines

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DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Jackson Hiller earned medalist, Sam Karman took runner-up, and the No. 4 Oglethorpe men’s golf team defended last year’s title by again winning the West Pines Collegiate. The event featured 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday at West Pines Golf Club.

The Stormy Petrels were in a neck-and-neck four-way battle with No. 8 Lynchburg, No. 21 Babson and Mississippi University for Women which saw all four teams within four strokes of each other after the first two rounds. Lynchburg held a three-stroke lead partway through the final 18 until a strong finish by Oglethorpe took them to the win by five strokes.

All five Petrels in the lineup birdied 17, including Beck Lewis who had back-to-back birdies of 16 and 17, finishing his round 3 under over the last seven holes. Similarly, Corbin Scott birdied twice in the last four holes to finish 2 under over the last four.

Hiller (72-70-66) and Karman (73-69-67) both made the all-tournament team. Hiller fired a bogey-free round on Tuesday highlighted by birdies on 9, 10 and 12 for a 3 under stretch across four holes at the turn. Karman had only one bogey and had a similar stretch at the turn by birdieing 6, 8, 9 and 10.

The event marked the first win of the season for Oglethorpe, which finished sixth twice in a pair of nationally competitive fields the last two times out. Hiller is also no stranger to the top of the leaderboard as this marked his fourth top-15 finish in four events of the season.

Tournament Notes

  • Oglethorpe was a machine built for producing pars as the Petrels led the field with 171 pars. They ranked No. 2 in birdies with 47.
  • Oglethorpe led the field on the par 4’s and ranked second on the par 5’s.
  • Hiller led the field in par 4 scoring at 3 under. Karman led the par 5 scoring at 6 under.
  • Karman tallied 13 birdies which was one off the lead.
  • Hiller, Scott and Diego Passos ranked in the top five for pars, Hiller at No. 2 with 39, only one off the lead.
  • This marked Oglethorpe’s second time winning West Pines claiming the team and individual titles at the inaugural event in 2023. Last season, Oglethorpe won by 23 strokes with Lewis and Karman finishing one-two.

Oglethorpe B Team

  • Oglethorpe’s B team finished seventh overall as a group, led by Passos who shot 70-75-74 to finish 21st overall.
  • Ryan Callaham had the low round on Tuesday with a 1 under 71, climbing 33 spots on the final day to land 61st overall.
  • Colin Alexander and Willem Jaron both finished in the top 40, and Thomas Reininger finished in the top 70.
  • Chris Forsythe (78-75-73) posted three solid rounds in the 70’s, improving each round and finishing with a 1 over 73.

Full Scores

Up Next

Oglethorpe heads to Destin, Florida, for the Golfweek Fall Invitational next Sunday-Tuesday, Oct. 13-15. The events will feature 54 holes at The Raven Golf Club at Sandestin.