Back Nine Blitz Moves Stags Up Leaderboard

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's golf team came on strong in their final nine holes of Thursday's Third Round at the NCAA National Championships. The Stags shot a three-over, 291 on Thursday to move into 13th place in the Championships. Heading into the final round, CMS is 30-over for the week. As a team, CMS went five-under par on their final nine (holes 1-9 after teeing off the 10th hole). Alex Wrenn (CMC) championed the back-nine charge with a round of three-under, 69. He made six birdies on the day and moved into a tie for ninth place.

Austin Long (CMC) carded a round of even-par, 72 while Jonathan Shaw (CMC) finished his day with an eagle and a birdie on his final two holes to shoot a two-over, 74.

Matt Shuman (CMC) and Johnny Brandt (CMC) rounded out the scoring for the Stags with rounds of 76 (+4) and 77 (+5), respectively.

Starting on the back nine, Wrenn began his day with three birdies in his first five holes. Along with a par and a bogie, Wrenn was two-under through five holes in the Third Round. Bogies on the 17th and first hole brought him back to even par through 10 holes on the day, but he immediately responded with a birdie on the par-five second hole to get back to red numbers. Three pars followed before two more birdies on the final four holes brought him to three-under for the round. His 69 was tied for the low round in the field on Thursday.

As mentioned, Austin Long shot a round of even par. Long went three-over on his first six holes after alternating pars and bogies. Four-straight pars followed before the sophomore put three birdies on the card in a four-hole span to get his round back to even. He did birdie his 17th hole of the day to go under par, but a bogey finished the at an even-72.

Jonathan Shaw was the next lowest man for the Stags on Thursday. He carded a bit of an up-and-down two-over, 74. Through five holes, Shaw was one-under par, thanks to a pair of birdies and a bogie. Eleven holes later, Shaw stood on the eighth tee box (his 17th hole of the day) five-over par after making a bogie on the seventh hole. On the drivable eighth hole, Shaw landed his tee shot in a green-side bunker, but holed out his bunker shot for a sandy eagle. A birdie on his final hole of the day brought Shaw back down to two-over for the round.

Matt Shuman and Johnny Brandt both put rounds in the mid 70s together with marks of 76 and 77 after similar rounds. Both seniors made three birdies on the day and a handful of bogies to go along with nine pars. The only difference was that Brandt made two double bogies and Shuman put just one on the card.

After their best round of the Championships, CMS has vaulted themselves into 13th at the National Championships. Head coach Bim Jollymour and the Stags are looking for a top-10 finish this season and are six strokes back of tenth place heading into the final round on Friday. The Stags will start on the 10th hole tomorrow, with the first tee time getting on the course at 8:25 a.m. ET. CMS will be playing Huntington College (14th, +32) and Pacific Lutheran (15th, +37).