The Oglethorpe men's golf team fell to a disappointing third place at the SAA Championship Sunday at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga., but Stormy Petrel junior Anthony Maccaglia was named SAA Men's Golfer of the Year and head coach Jim Owen SAA Coach of the Year, rounding out the day. In addition, senior Hayden Jones was placed on the All-SAA First Team.
It's Maccaglia's first conference player of the year award, as the criteria were recently changed. Instead of automatically going to the individual conference champion as in the past, the award is now a season-long endeavor. Maccaglia finished second on the weekend, carding a three-over 216. That put him five strokes behind individual champion Grant Blevins of Centre. He became the first Division III golfer in history to be named to a Palmer Cup squad earlier this month. He earned three individual medals over the course of the year, including most recently at the Camp Lejeune Championship in Jacksonville, N.C. Maccaglia now adds an SAA Men's Golfer of the Year award to his many accolades, which include an individual national championship.
Owen garners his 14th conference coach of the year award in the last 17 years after leading his squad to first place at the Camp Lejeune Championship and the Callaway Gardens Intercollegiate in the spring, as well as the Golfweek D3 Fall Invitational. He has led the Stormy Petrels to 11 conference championships in the last 17 years and two national titles over the last six. The team is likely to qualfiy for its 15th appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship next month.
Senior Hayden Jones joined Maccaglia on the All-SAA First Team after finishing tied for fourth with a five-over 218 on the weekend, seven strokes behind Blevins. He gains automatic qualification to the First Team with his Top 5 finish. It is his third consecutive first team all-conference honor.
Unfortunately, the weekend did not go too well for the Petrels overall. They fired a 298 on
Sunday, their highest round of the tournament. They finished the event at 36-over 888, 18 strokes back of eventual champion Centre and nine back of second-place Rhodes.
Senior Anthony Amodeo earned a Top 15 finish for the Petrels, ending up tied for 12th after a solid final-round two-over 73 put him at 12-over 225 for the tournament, 14 strokes back of the individual champion. Junior Will Morrow also garnered a Top 15 finish while golfing as an individual, as he tied for 15th with a 13-over 226, 15 strokes back of the medalist.
Rounding out the scorecard for the Petrels was sophomore David Kleckner, who tied for 30th with a three-day 234. Freshmen Mack Paulson and Chase Feagin finished 39th and 43rd, respectively. Pauslon carded a three-day 238 while Feagin came in with a total of 245.
The Petrels will likely qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship in Greensboro, N.C., as a Pool B entrant, reserved for teams who do not have the possibility of garnering an automatic bid (the SAA is still in its two-year probationary period in which it does not have one).
Second round recap
The Oglethorpe men's golf team cut four strokes off its first-round score at the SAA Championship at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga., Saturday, but could not make up any ground on first-place Centre, who fired back-to-back 290s for a 10-stroke lead going into the final round on Sunday. After firing a 293 on Saturday, the Petrels sit at 22-over 590 for the tournament. They are joined in second place by Rhodes, who shot a 291 on Saturday to pull even with the Stormy Petrels.
Junior Anthony Maccaglia is in the hunt for his first-ever individual conference medal, one of the few accolades that has thus far eluded him. He finished Day 2 tied for the lead with Centre's Grant Blevins. Maccaglia's at even-par 142 after shooting a two-under 69 on Saturday. Senior Hayden Jones is in third after another solid day, shooting a 73 on Saturday to put him at one-over 143 for the tournament, just a stroke back of the lead. Will Morrow is having an excellent tournament golfing as an individual, as he's in ninth place after two rounds with a six-over 148, six strokes back. Senior Anthony Amodeo is tied for 15th after two rounds. He's accrued a 10-over 152 and is 10 strokes back of Maccaglia and Blevins.
Sophomore David Kleckner rounds out the Petrels' scorers. He sits in a 26th-place tie after a two-day 155. Freshmen Mack Paulson and Chase Feagin both featured vast improvements over their Day 1 totals on Saturday. Paulson is in 42nd after lopping 12 strokes off his Friday total and carding a 75. He's got a two-round 162. Meanwhile, Feagin's got a 166 for the tournament after cutting 12 strokes off his own first-round score, putting up a 77 on Saturday.
Morrow will tee off individually at 8 a.m. Sunday for the tournament's final round, but the rest of the Petrels will hit the course a little later. Feagin will tee off at 9:30 to begin the morning for the rest of the team. Amodeo will hit the course at 9:57, Jones will get started at 10:06 and Maccaglia will look to claim his first-ever individual conference championship starting at 10:15.
First round recap
The Oglethorpe men's golf team finds themselves in second place after the first round of the SAA Championship at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga., Friday. The Stormy Petrels carded a 13-over 297 and sit seven strokes back of first-place Centre going into the second round.
The Petrels were led by senior Hayden Jones, who sits in second place individually after firing a one-under 70 over the course of the first round, putting him just two strokes back of the lead. Junior Will Morrow had an excellent day golfing as an individual, tying for third with an even-par 71. Junior Anthony Maccaglia ends the day in the Top 5 after shooting two-over 73, putting him five strokes back. Senior Anthony Amodeo ended the day in the Top 15 after shooting a four-over 75, good enough for a 13th-place tie. He sits seven strokes back of the leader. Sophomore David Kleckner rounded out the Petrels' scorers, tying for 26th with an eight-over 79, putting him 11 strokes back.
Freshmen Mack Paulson and Chase Feagin also competed for the Stormy Petrels. Paulson fired a first-round 87 and Feagin carded an opening-round 89.
The Petrels will tee off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning with Morrow, golfing as an individual, hitting the course at 8 a.m.
