Top 20 Moments - Men's Golf

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #20
April 25-27, 2008
Playing at Twin Bridges Golf Club of Danville, Ind., Oglethorpe University recaptures the men’s golf title, firing a three-day total of 922. The tournament marks the first time the SCAC uses 54 holes to determine its team champion. The Petrels shoot a final round 296 to take the 17-shot victory over Trinity University. Oglethorpe senior Taylor Urbanski earns SCAC Men’s Golfer-of-the-Year honors with a three-day total of 226 – three shots clear of teammate Scott Pugh and Trinity’s Jonathan Alden.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #19
May 11-14, 2010
Junior Chris Morris of Centre College saves his best performance for the fourth and final day of play and shoots a 67 to take third-place among all individuals with an overall score of 284 at the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship in Hershey, Pa. It is the third-highest individual finish at the national touranment for a SCAC male student-athlete.

The SCAC placed two teams in the top-15 as defending national champion Oglethorpe University finishes in a tie for sixth with a team score of 1,201 while Centre finishes in a tie for 13th with a team score of 1,215. It marks the first time the SCAC places two or more teams in the top-15 since the 2007 season and marks the fourth time in the last six years that the SCAC had two teams finish in the top 15.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #18
April 24-25, 1992
Millsaps College wins the inaugural SCAC Men’s Golf Championship - played on the home course of the Majors - Deerfield Country Club in Madison, Miss. Millsaps shoots a two-day score of 630 to defeat Rhodes College by three strokes. Brad Ray of Millsaps earns medalist and SCAC Golfer-of-the-Year honors after defeating Rhodes' Matt Preston on the second playoff hole. The two tied for individual honors with a two-day total of 156.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #17
April 29-30, 2006
Oglethorpe University fires a conference record two-day total of 579 (287-292) to win the 2006 SCAC Men's Golf Championships played at the Tims Ford Golf Course at Bear Trace in Winchester, Tenn. The old mark had been 585 shot by Rhodes College at the 2004 championship. OU's first-round score (287) equalled the best team round in conference history - a record that dated to 1970 - and was matched again by Sewanee-The University of the South in the second round of the 2004 championships.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #16
April 26-27, 2003
Oglethorpe University clinches the 2003 SCAC Men's Golf Championship with a round of 289 on Sunday, totaling 588 strokes for the weekend. It is the fourth consecutive title for the Petrels - the longest streak of men's golf championships by any one school in the SCAC era. Oglethorpe's Trent Erb won the individual title, shooting a three-under-par round of 69. Oglethorpe golfers took the top four individual positions. Rhodes College finished second with a score if 613, while Sewanee-The University of the South and Southwestern University tied in third with a final score of 622.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #15
April 23-24, 1999
The DePauw University men beat second-place Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology by one stroke, finishing with 613 to Rose-Hulma’s 614 at the 1999 SCAC Men's Golf Championships played at The Quarry Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas. Southwestern University is a close third at 616. The three shot margin between first and third is the closest in SCAC men's tournament history. The championship also represents DePauw’s first men’s SCAC title in any sport.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #14
April 24-26, 2009
The Oglethorpe University men repeat as conference champions at the 2009 SCAC Golf Championships which concluded at Tunica National Golf Course. Oglethorpe shot a team score of 920 to win by seven shots while holding off a furious finish from Rhodes College. The Lynx finished with a team score of 927 after a tournament-best round of 300 on Sunday. Oglethorpe junior Scott Pugh fired a final round 74 to win the men's individual medalist race by a stroke over Rhodes College's Bill Bazzel. Pugh finished the tournament with a three-day total of 225. The championship is the eighth for the Petrels - the most by any program in the SCAC era.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #13
June 2, 2003
The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) names Joe Green of Oglethorpe University as its NCAA Division III recipient of the 2003 Softspikes Freshman of the Year. Green also earns honorable mention PING All-American honors.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #12
May 15-18, 2007
Oglethorpe University posts its second-best finish in eight trips to the Division III Men’s Golf Tournament, shooting 1,235 over four days for a fifth-place finish. The Petrels’ Taylor Urbanski finishes fifth among all individuals with a four-day score of 300 (+12). After leading on Day One, Rhodes College finishes in sixth place with a team score of 1241 – six shots beyind Oglethorpe.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #11
April 24-25, 1998
Tolliver Williams of Oglethorpe University fires a two-day total of 146 and becomes the first golfer to win back-to-back Player-of-the-Year awards as he leads the Petrel men to a 21-stroke win over second-place Rhodes College at the 1998 SCAC Men's Golf Championship contested at the Danville Country Club in Danville, Ky. His 146 was a then SCAC championship best and remains the largest margin of victory in conference history (9 shots). The championship represents the first-ever spring sports conference championship for Oglethorpe. Williams won medalist honors in 1996 and the tournament was not played in 1997 due to inclement weather.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #10
May 13-16, 2002
Competing in the 2002 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships in Lincoln, Neb., Oglethorpe University - led by the all-American performance of Chris Summers - finishes tied for ninth, the program’s best finish at the national championships in three trips. It also represents the SCAC's first-ever top 10 team finish at the men's national championship.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #9
April 24-25, 2004
Rhodes College shoots a final round 289 to dethrone four-time defending champion Oglethorpe University at the 2004 SCAC Men’s Golf Champoinships, which was contested at Renaissance Pine Isle Resort at Lake Lanier, Ga. The Lynx, who won by six shots, were led by First Team performers John Jennison and Matt Durand, who both carded two-day totals of 146 (+4). For the second consecutive year, Oglethorpe’s Trent Erb earns the SCAC Men’s Golfer of the Year award. Erb, who shot a two-day total of 144 (+2), defeated Hendrix College’s Justin Long in a one-hole playoff for medalist honors.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #8
April 22-23, 1994
Played at Atlanta National Golf Club in Alpharetta, Ga., Trinity University wins the 1994 SCAC Men’s Golf Championship, breaking a 24-year-old conference record for largest margin of victory with a 40-stroke win over runner-up Sewanee-The University of the South. In the longest playoff to determine medalist honors in SCAC history, Trinity's Derek Birkeland defeated teammate Tom Ming on the fourth playoff hole to earn SCAC Golfer-of-the-Year.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #7
May 12-15, 2003
For the first time in league history, the SCAC sends more than one team to the Division III Men's Golf Championship. SCAC champion Oglethorpe University is joined by Trinity University in the field of 23 teams at the 2003 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships in Delaware, Ohio. On the final day of competition, Oglethorpe shoots the second-lowest round of the day (287) to jump from 11th place after three rounds to finish in sixth while Trinity, playing in its first NCAA golf championship in 28 years, finishes in 18th after a final-round 318.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #6
April 23-25, 2010
The Centre College and Southwestern University men’s golf teams finish in a tie for first-place at the 2010 SCAC men's championships, played on the Stonemont Golf Course in Stone Mountain, Ga. It is the first time two teams have finished tied for first in the history of the event. Centre led the tournament wire-to-wire but had to go to the tiebreaker (fifth score each day) to earn the league’s automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship. The championships mark the first league titles in men’s golf for both Centre and Southwestern. The two teams finished in a flat-footed tie at 926 strokes for the championship. Centre’s Chris Morris carded a final round score of 72 to win SCAC Medalist Honors with a three-day total of 216 - the lowest winning score since the championship became a three-day event in 2008.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #5
May 12-15, 1998
Oglethorpe University becomes the first SCAC team to receive an invitation to the Division III Men’s Golf Championships. The Petrels finish 16th out of 23 teams, shooting a four-day total of 1232 – at the 1998 Championships at Jekyll Island Golf Club in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Oglethorpe’s Tolliver Williams becomes the first SCAC men’s golfer to be recognized as an all-American.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #4
May 8-11, 2006
Playing at the Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb., John Jennison of Rhodes College finishes in second place among 119 individuals at the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships. The junior posts rounds of 76, 70, 74 and 71 to finish with a four-day total of 291 and lead the Lynx to a program-best eighth-place finish (1,228). Jennison's performance also represents (at that time) the best performance by an SCAC student-athlete at the NCAA championships. Playing in its sixth consecutive NCAA tournament, Oglethorpe University - led by Danny Swanick's fourth-place finish (296) - finishes in fourth-place with a four-day team total of 1,211, which was just one shot out of third and eight shots from second-place. The Petrels' fourth-place finish is a program-best and a then best-ever team finish for an SCAC school in the men's championships.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #3
April 29-30, 2006
Senior Jerre Maynor of Sewanee wins SCAC Men’s Golfer-of-the-Year honors with a two-day record score of 134 at the 2006 SCAC Men's Golf Championships played on the Tims Ford Golf Course at Bear Trace in Winchester, Tennessee. Following an opening round of 69, Maynor fired the lowest recorded score in event history (65) on Sunday to earn top honors. He is the only golfer in league history to record two sub 70 rounds at the championships.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #2
May 10-13, 2004
Two-time SCAC Golfer-of-the-Year Trent Erb of Oglethorpe University is named the winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award – symbolizing the Division III Men’s Golfer of the Year - after leading the Petrels to a ninth place finish at the 2004 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club of Oak Valley in Calimesa, California.

MEN'S GOLF - MOMENT #1
March 13-16, 2009
With a final-round 289, the Oglethorpe University men's golf team came from four strokes down to earn the school's first-ever national title, winning the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship at the PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Oglethorpe chased down Methodist University, the 54-hole leader, and held off a charging University of La Verne to earn the Championship win. The Petrels finished with a four day total of 12-over par 1164 to best La Verne who came in at 16-over par 1168.

The Petrels' Olafur Loftsson bested La Verne's Mitchell Fedorka on the first playoff hole to win the Arnold Palmer award for tournament medalist. For the four day tournament, Loftsson finished with a score of 285, good for 3-under par.

The national championship is the sixth for an SCAC team and the first since DePauw University won the 2007 Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Loftsson's individual title was the 18th for an SCAC student-athlete.

“This is a great day for Oglethorpe athletics," said Oglethorpe head coach Jim Owen following the victory. "I could not be more proud of our guys for bringing home the school’s first championship. They certainly earned it with their stellar play on the course.”

For more on the top SCAC Men's Golf moment, including interviews with Oglethorpe head coach Jim Owen and former Petrels Hap Kaufold and Scott Pugh, click here.