Kirkwood claims first men's golf national title
The Kirkwood Eagles totaled 1168 over four rounds to claim the 2023 NJCAA DII Men's Golf Championship at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, IN. Kirkwood was the only team at the championship to shoot a sub-300 score in each round (284-291-294-299), en route to claiming the programs first national title.
Kirkwood was a contender in the team standings early on as the Eagles were in third after the first round but only 3 shots back from the top spot with a 284. The Eagles used a strong second round in windy conditons to take over the No. 1 spot with a 291. The third round saw Kirkwood finish with a 294 and take a 10 shot lead going into the final rounds. The Eagles held strong with a 299 and claim their first title by 8 shots.
Parkland fought hard a tried to give the Eagles a challenge on final day to finish runner-up with a team total of 1176.
Walters State won a playoff against defend national champion South Mountain to claim a third place finish with a team total of 1180.
Championship Results
After finishing in fifth place last year, Kirkwood shot a 291 in the second round to take a three stroke lead over Parkland at the halfway point of the NJCAA DII Men’s Golf National Championship.
Superlatives
Best individual round: In the first round Heartland's Mason Minkel shot a 9-under 63 to tie the Swan Lake course record.
Best team round: South Mountain started the title defense off strong with a 281 in the first round.
Most eagles: Tomas Riberio (Mesa) finished with three eagles on the week.
Most birdies: Warner Beach (Glendale) recorded a one-under par score on 20 holes this week. Beach earned Medalist Honors.
Beach wins individual title
Warner Beach (Glendale) recorded a four round mark of 68-71-68-69 to win NJCAA medalist honor by a single stroke.
Beach lead the individual leaderboard after shooting 7-under for 36 holes. Beach over come a tough third round that saw a six-way tie with a strong 3 under 69 to claim Medalist.
Top Honors for the Top Finishers
While Beach earned his individual medalist honor, seven other golfers earned First Team All-American status: Damon Vilkauskas, South Mountain; AJ Rinehart, Walters State; Kolby Shackelford, HKirkwood; Lucas Park, Parkland; Chase Laack, Heartland; Nathan Brantanata, Kirkwood; and Chase Kaiser, Mississippi Gulf Coast.
