SUGAR GROVE, Ill. – A memorable season came to a conclusion on Sunday as Kennesaw State completed play at the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
The Owls posted a final-round 19-over par 307 on a windy afternoon to conclude 54 holes with a 40-over par total 904 and tie for 29th place in the 30-team field. The top 15 teams following Sunday’s play advance to a fourth round of stroke play on Monday, with the top eight advancing to match play beginning Tuesday.
Senior Christopher Guglielmo capped a standout career by posting a 2-over par 74 and finishing with a three-round total of 7-over par 221 and tying for 76th.
“It was an honor to be here. The guys earned every right to be here, winning the conference championship and advancing through regionals, and I couldn’t be prouder for what we achieved this season,” head coach Bryant Odom said. “Unfortunately, this is not what where we hoped to finish, but there are a lot of great teams at home this weekend that didn’t make it here.
“The leaderboard is not a representation of our season,” Odom added. “We’re holding our heads high. We had a lot of birdies and eagles on the back nine, and we had a blast.”
Kennesaw State’s second nine on Sunday, included eight birdies and an eagle as freshman Connor Coffee produced four birdies, sophomore Jake Fendt had three and Guglielmo had an eagle. Coffee, Fendt and Guglielmo all shot even par over their final nine holes.
As a team, the Owls bounced back from a tough opening nine, to close with a 4-over par score on their closing nine.
The national championships concluded a successful season that saw Kennesaw State win three tournaments, capture the ASUN Conference Championships and tie for second at the NCAA Murfreesboro Regional.
Individually, Coffee and Fendt claimed individual medalist honors and Guglielmo had a tie for first.