AU men’s golf team finishes third in Hilton Head, women finish 14th in Florida

The Augusta University men’s golf team finished third at the Wexford Intercollegiate on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Hilton Head, S.C.

The AU women’s golf team finished 14th at the Moon Golf Invitational on the same day in Melbourne, Fla. 

The Jaguars men’s team had six golfers compete in the two-day event on the par-72, 6,913-yard course. Only five golfers can compete for each team, so Alex van Wyk, Gareth Steyn, Viktor Lindgren, Hampus Wijkstrom and CJ van Wyk all competed for the team in the event. Brock Hoover competed as an individual. 

“It was great to see the team play well at Wexford and finish third,” said AU men’s golf coach Jack O’Keefe. “We had a chance to win and almost pulled it off. The guys fought hard the final round and put up our best round of the year.”

AU’s Alex van Wyk finished tied for 10th, finishing 1-over-par in the three rounds. He shot his best round in the opening round with a 3-under-par 69. Steyn finished tied for 15th, finishing 3-over-par for the tournament. He also shot his best round in the opening round with a 1-under-par 71.

Lindgren finished tied for 21st, finishing 4-over-par for the tournament. His best rounds came in one and two, shooting a 1-under-par 71 both rounds. Wijkstrom shot his best rounds on day two, shooting an even par 72 and a 3-under-par 69 in his final round. CJ van Wyk finished tied for 48th for the tournament, shooting 10-over-par. His best round his last, shooting a 2-under-par 70.

Hoover finished tied for 51st, finishing 11-over-par. His best round came in round two with a even par 72.

“For the most part, we had three solid scores each round and the final round we were able to get four solid rounds,” O’Keefe said. “We were more consistent this week with the exception of the first round. All in all, the guys did a nice job of fighting all the way to the finish.”

Francis Marion beat out the Jaguars by four strokes, shooting 2-over-par to win the tournament at 866. Furman was second at 867, and Augusta was at 870. Mercer’s Tobias Jonsson won the individual title at 4-under-par. Teammate Martin Plukka finished one shot behind Jonsson.

Up next for the men is the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina on March 7-8.

“Any time you go to Pinehurst you always think of short game first,” O’Keefe said. “We will need to chip and putt well at Pinehurst to do well.”

The Jaguar women’s golf team had five golfers compete at the Suntree Country Club Classic Course, which is a par 72, 6479-yard course.

Chloe Holder finished as the top golfer for the Jaguars with T37 finish, shooting 5-over-par in the three rounds. She shot her best in the first two rounds with an opening score of even par 72.

Natalia Yoko was the second-best golfer for the Jaguars, finishing tied for 50th and shooting 7-over-par for the tournament. Her final round was here best with an even par 72.

Nicole Page, Kennedy Carroll and Napabhach Boon-In all finished tied for 68th, shooting 14-over-par. 

Florida State won the tournament by six shots, shooting 10-over-par as a team. LSU’s Ingrid Linblad won the individual title, finishing at 10-under-par. 

The AU women will host the Valspar Augusta Invitational on March 12-13 at Forest Hills.

 Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.