Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges turned in a characteristically dominant final round of -15 to force a playoff and beat Illinois Wesleyan University head-to-head to secure the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf National Championship title.
Team Results
Rookie
Sebi Aliaga also claimed individual top medalist honors at 10-below par for the tournament as the Stags won their second-ever national championship, following the 2016 team’s title. After finding a groove with a bogey-free -5 in te third round, Aliaga again shot -5 to close out the tournament and top the leaderboard by one stroke.
Aliaga Scorecard
The historic performance began with a statement of intent with
Logan Mills recording an eagle and three others birdieing the first hole. One of three first-years competing for CMS along with SCIAC Athlete of the Year
Samson Li, Mills carded the joint-lowest round of the tournament at -7 on the final day to finish tied for 18
th individually while
Arnold He, at one point atop the leaderboard, tied for 12
th. Li finished in a tie for 36
th and
Jamison Tan tied for 71
st with each player contributing at least one round to the team score over the week.
Aliaga opened the day with a pair of birdies before bogeying the third hole, but then played Even-par for the rest of the front nine, then eagled Hole 10, birdied 13 and closed the round with a birdie on 18 to seal the individual title. Mills bookended the front nine with one of two eagles on the day and a birdie, then went -4 on the back nine as CMS closed its furious rally with a collective 13 birdies and two eagles against just three bogeys. Li in particular found top form down the stretch, notching birdies on four of the final five holes to come in at -1 for the round.
Having entered the day seven strokes off the lead, CMS vaulted up from fourth place to challenge Aurora University and IWU, who turned in the joint third-lowest round of the tournament at -8 behind their own -9 in the second round. IWU went ahead by a stroke shortly after CMS finished play but fell back even on the next hole and could not come up with a last birdie needed on Hole 18 to secure the title outright. For the playoff, three Stags birdied a replay of the 18th hole while the two Titans in the group made Par and CMS held on for the victory.
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