SANDESTIN – Each perched atop the helm of NCAA Division III golf, UT-Tyler golf coach King Campbell and Claremont Mudd Scripps’ Brad Shigezawa soaked in their championships on Friday in opposite fashion.
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For Campbell, the magnitude of the Patriots’ first team title was a tear-jerker.
Moments after Buddy Hallman tapped in for par at No. 18 at the Raven Course at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, putting the finishing touches on a second-place, 2-over individual finish to help lead his team to a seven-stroke win over runner-up Transylvania, the coach burst into tears of joy.
“What a way to retire,” he said as he walked away from the scoring tent behind the finishing green.
Still emotional moments later, literally shaking from the excitement, Campbell said, “I just can’t believe it. This is just one of the happiest days of my life. I couldn’t be more proud of this team, this group of guys.”
The outpouring of emotion was in stark contrast to Shigezawa, the West Coast-based junior who grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii.
After erasing a five-stroke deficit on Thursday with a 69 and taking a four-shot lead into Friday’s final round, the junior never faltered down the stretch en route to a 1-over 72. That put him at 2-under for the tournament, the only red number in the field, and four strokes ahead of runner-up Hallman.
Calm and collected and chatting with teammates on the deck of the Baytowne Golf Club clubhouse as he waited for Hallman to come in, knowing full well the championship was his, Shigezawa was asked if the monumental feat had sunken in yet.
“No, not yet,” he said. “It’s not going to for awhile.”
Asked if it would feel more real once presented with the championship hardware, Shigezawa remained stone-faced, “Probably not, probably when we get back to California (it will). I’m just excited to finish my junior year. But, yeah, life’s good right now.”
Indeed it is for the junior, a biology major who is on a pre-med path.
So what does this do or change for his confidence on the links?
“Honestly, it means nothing,” Shigezawa said. “I keep working the same and put my same work ethic forward and keep improving. I know I have a long way to go to where I want to be in a few years.”
Does that mean a go at the PGA tour is in his future?
“I’ll keep trying until they tell me I can’t,” he said.
There to share in his glory were the 15th-ranked Patriots of UT-Tyler, the Cinderella of the tournament. A program still in its infancy – just eight years old – the Patriots were the last team to qualify for the showcase.
“We didn’t even think we were going to get in the tournament,” Campbell said.
But they did for the fourth time in five years, and they made it clear they’d be in contention from the start. In the first round the Patriots carded a fourth-place 293, then came a second-round 286 to tie 11th-ranked Transylvania for the overall lead.
A 299 followed Thursday to fall two strokes back of Transylvania, but the Patriots took the lead early Friday and never looked back en route to their lowest round of the tourney.
Dayton Cargill carded a 1-under 70, Hallman a 72, Trent Boudoin a 73 and Joey Rippel a 74 for a 289, nine strokes better than runner-up Transylvania and giving them a 27-over total for the championship.
Pretty good for a team that was resigned to the fact its season was done.
“We hadn’t been practicing because we didn’t think we were going to get in and we weren’t playing really well,” Campbell said. “When we saw we made the cut, we thought it was a bonus. Then when we were in second place, that was another bonus. Then today, it was absolutely incredible.
“Our program is only eight years and we finished fourth one year but we had never competed. Even when we finished fourth we kind of came from behind. So all my kids had never been in a position like this. … And so there was a real sense of nervousness on their part, but they embraced the stage and sensed it would be a good day regardless of what happened. We told them to, ‘just have fun today, to have this moment to remember for the rest of your lives and draw back from.
“And that’s just what they did.”
Second-ranked Methodist finished a distant third at 48-over, followed by fourth-place Emory at 51-over and fifth-place Claremont Mudd Scripps.
Mary Hardin-Baylor wins first team title, Lindsey takes individual crown
The longest active NCAA championship streak across all divisions is no more.
But to be fair, entering Friday’s final found of the NCAA D-III championship it was clear that Methodist’s 15-year reign would end. Where the real drama centered on was who would end it.
Brushing aside the always a bridesmaid, never a bride label it has earned for its four runner-up finishes over the past 11 years, second-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor carded a 311, easily good enough to maintain its seven-stroke lead entering the final round and good enough for an 87-over total that bested runner-up UT-Tyler by eight strokes. Finishing in third 20 strokes back of the Crusaders was Methodist, which has hoisted the championship every since 1997.
It the first national title for the Crusaders, who had five players finish individually in the top 28.
They were led by third-place Taylor O’Rear, who finished five strokes back of champion UT-Tyler’s Laura Lindsey. Elizabeth Davis was next in a tie for 15th at 28-over; Kelly Gonyea was a stroke back of Davis to tie for 18th; Victoria Thane finished tied for 26th with at 33-over; and Sara Eckert finished tied for 28th at 34-over.
In the individual race there was little drama as Lindsey led the championship from start to finish.
The freshman opened the tournament with a pair of 72s to take a three-shot lead into Thursday, which she maintained with a third-round 77. And that cushion was never in doubt Friday.
Lindsey fired a 2-over 74 to finish 7-over overall for the showcase, four strokes ahead of runner-up George Fox’s Kelsey Morrison and five strokes ahead of O’Rear.