Stags Finish Eighth at NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's golf team had its best round of the four-day NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, shooting a 297, but had too far to climb as it ended the championship in eighth place out of 42 teams on Friday.

Illinois Wesleyan took the team championship with an 1174 over four rounds, including a 294 in the final round on Friday to hold off Huntingdon by three strokes and Guilford by five. CMS nearly reached the top five with its strong finish that gave it a 1201 overall, but it ended up four shots behind Methodist in fifth, three behind Wittenberg in sixth, and one behind Oglethorpe in seventh. 

Sophomore Mason Chiu was the top individual finisher for the Stags, ending in a tie for 11th place with a 295 (+7), while Sam Goldenring of Williams was the individual champion at 285 (-3) over his four rounds. Sophomore Ken Kong and senior Alex Wrenn tied for 32nd at 302.

The best final round went to junior Austin Long, who carded an even-par 72 on Friday, earning a birdie on the 14th to go with eight pars on the back nine. Kong was close behind at 73, while Chiu and Wrenn each had a 76. Wrenn went through a hot stretch on the front nine where he earned birdies on No. 6 and No. 7 and then carded an eagle with a two on the par-4 eighth hole. 

Wrenn is the lone senior on the 2019 team, after a stellar career which saw him help the Stags to their first-ever national title in 2016, when he tied for first place on the individual leaderboard before finishing as the runner-up after a playoff. The Stags have earned three top-12 finishes since at nationals, including 12th in 2017, ninth last year, and eighth this year, and they will try to pursue another national title next year with the bulk of the roster returning.