Virginia State finishes 2nd at 24th Annual PGA Championships

Virginia State finishes 2nd at 24th Annual PGA Championships

FSU finishes fourth

May 9, 2010
 
Virginia State University's golf team participated in the 24th Annual PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship in Port St. Lucia, FL finishing in second place. Virginia State finished with a combined score of 926 (+62) over three days which was solid enough to land them in second place behind Morehouse College's score of 906 (+42). Senior Greg Hunt (Chesapeake, VA) led VSU with a total score of 224 (74, 75, 75) and Brian Wood led VSU in the final round finishing even par (72).

Fayetteville State shot a final round 318 to finish with an 87-over-par 951 finishing in fourth place, six shots behind Lincoln (MO). Freshman Jedidiah Frazier (Havelock, NC), the Broncos' top individual performer, shot a 10-over-par 226, good for third place.

Coached by Jeff Hamilton, VSU could not pass Morehouse College to take first place the entire weekend. In the opening round, VSU scored 311 combined team points staying ahead of Lincoln University by one stroke but behind Morehouse College by 12 strokes. Greg Hunt led the Trojans with a first round score of 74 (+2), Stuart Larus scored 77 (+5), both Brian Wood and Dustin Kelley both shot (+8) for a score of 80, and Wes Sides finished with a score of 82 (+10).

In the next round, VSU scored 314 points led again by Greg Hunt's score of 75 (+3). Greg Hunt scored 149 (+5) after two rounds which tied him for second along with Jedidiah Frazier and Jeremy Ringled of Fayetteville State. Dustin Kelley shot (+5) dropping his score to 157 tied with teammate Staurt Larus' who shot (+8) in the second round. Brian Wood finished with a total second round score of 162 (+10) and Wes Sides scored 167 (+13) for VSU.

In the final round, VSU trailed Morehouse College by 25 strokes to win. Brian Wood led the Trojans in the third round by dropping 10 strokes in the second round to finish even par (72) and end the tournament with a total score of 234. Teammates Dustin Kelley (+5) and Start Larus (+5) also finished the tournament with a total score of 234. Greg Hunt shot (+3) in his the final round and Wes Sides shot (+12) to give him a total tournament score of 251. VSU shot their best round in the finale with a score of 301.

Greg Hunt also ranked second with his individual score of 224 behind Morehouse College's Phillip Allen's score of 214.

Frazier's 72 on Saturday was tied the lowest score in the second round with Bronco teammate Jeremy Ringled (Hope Mills, NC). FSU and eventual champion Morehouse College were the only schools to have teammates shoot 72 or better in the same round. Frazier had a rough start on the morning finishing the back nine first with a 42 (6-over-par). After the turn, he finished the front with a one-under for a 77 score. Throughout the tournament, Jedidiah scored eight birdies and one eagle.
 
In his final collegiate round of golf as a FSU Bronco, Jeremy Ringled finished his fourth appearance at the PGA Championships with a 231 (+15). On the front nine where he previously had three birdies on Saturday, Jeremy birdied hole #1 but triple bogeyed hole #6 (a par 3 of 180 yards) and bogeyed #7 (a par 5). Ringled was three over on the front and seven over on the back for a total score of 82 (+10). He dropped from a second place tie to sixth overall.
 
Matt Crescenzo (Cheltenham, PA) finished the tournament 14th overall after a repeat performance of a 76 score (4-over-par). The first semester freshman scored 38’s on both half’s of the Wanamaker. His final total for the championships was a 238 (+22).
 
William McClure (Fayetteville, NC) will become the new captain of the team after Ringled’s departure. He finished in 22nd overall with a 256 (83-90-83). Bryan Conner (Hickory, NC) was 25th with a 267 (97-96-84).

In the Men's Independent Division, freshmen Rashad Hunt (Chesapeake, VA) and sophomore Josh Boyd (Miami, FL) finished in the top-20. Rashad Hunt finished tied for 12th place with a total score of 228 (78,73, 77). Josh Boyd tied for 16th place with a total score of 234 (77,75, 82).