Shuman cracks top-15 at Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational
JEKYLL ISLAND, GA. – The no. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's golf team faced some challenges at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational from March 17-19, taking on 14 of the top-25 NCAA Division III schools in the country. Playing on the Pine Lakes Golf Course, the Stags finished in ninth place with a combined score of 892 over three rounds, finishing ahead of no. 3 Rhodes College and no. 16 Guilford College, while no. 15 Greensboro took first place by combining for 875 strokes. Despite the flat terrain, Pine Lakes proved to be a challenging course given the tight width from the surrounding trees and strong winds on the final day.
"Playing against the best teams in the country is important," said Head Coach Bim Jollymour. "Even if the final result was not good as expected, I feel the experience was good for us."
Junior Matt Shuman (CMC) led the Stags on the leaderboard, finishing tied for 15th after shooting 71, 71, and 78 (220) over the three days. His classmate Johnny Brandt (CMC) was tied for 26th after finishing three strokes ahead with a total score of 223.
CMS stood in eighth place after the first day with a score of 298 as Shuman finished tied for fourth after going one-below par. Brandt shot 73 in the opening round while freshmen Harrison Brenner (CMC) and Austin Long (CMC) matched on the first day with a score of 77.
The Stags shot 286 on the second day and vaulted up the leaderboard to be tied at second. Despite playing in his first major tournament, Brenner looked like a veteran on the course, shooting two-below par on day two. Shuman matched his score from the first day and sophomore Alex Wrenn (CMC) matched par at 72. Long closed the round with 73 strokes.
Strong winds made the final day fairly difficult as the Stags did not finish as they wanted. Although Brandt matched par on the final day, Brenner, Long, and Wrenn each shot 79. Shuman closed his tournament run by going +6 over par.
Over the course of the tournament, Shuman led the Stags with 35 pars and putted one Eagle. He also went 5-under in par 5 holes. Brandt led with 10 birdies while Long and Brenner went 4-under and 3-under, respectively, on par 5 scoring.
The Stags will travel to La Verne for the West Cup on Mar. 27-28 at the Sierra La Verne Country Club.
By Young Kim
Sports Information Assistant
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