CAMDEN, S.C. – For the first time since the 2003-04 campaign, the Anderson University men's golf team has won three tournament titles in a season and for the first time in program history, the Trojans have won three consecutive tourney titles, after winning the 2022 Camden Collegiate, Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm really proud of our guys today." said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "They shot a final round 277 to win their third straight tournament. This one was little different in that we had to come from behind to secure the win. I believe that experience will build the guys' confidence and very well may help us down the road. Reece and Calahan both finished today with strong rounds. Alejandro fired his best round of the year and Simon and Parker also both played well. Daniel and Sam played as individuals in this event and finished with strong rounds. The guys have a couple of weeks off before we compete at Currahee in our final event of the fall season."
The two-day, 54-hole event was hosted by Limestone on a 6,455 yard, par-70 Camden Country Club layout and featured three teams ranked in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Top-25, along with four teams that received votes in the poll.
The No. 7-ranked Trojans more than made up a three-stroke deficit and won their third straight championship going away – by a comfortable 13-stroke margin over runner-up Shorter. Unranked Coker began the day three strokes in front of AU, but slipped to third. The host Saints, who were ranked 10th nationally last week, finished in fourth place, while Flagler moved up two spots and claimed fifth place. No. 19 USC Aiken claimed sixth place, with Erskine and Belmont Abbey finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Young Harris and Newberry finished out the 10-team field.
On the strength of a tournament-low 65 in Tuesday's second round, Coker's Jonathan Hallinger (70-65-72=207) and Shorter's Jean Louis du Plessis (70-67-70=207) finished in a deadlock in the battle for individual medalist honors, with du Plessis winning the championship on the fourth playoff hole.
AU senior Reece Coleman (71-68-69=208) missed out on capturing his third career title – finishing alone in third place by just one stroke after trailing Hallinger by four shots following Monday's first two rounds. Belmont Abbey's Jack Warren (67-72-71=210) edged out the Trojans' Calahan Keever (72-70-69=211) and Erskine's Tom Bastow (72-68-71=211) for fourth place.
AU freshman Alejandro de Castro (72-73-67=212) equaled the tourney's second-lowest round with a career-best third-round 67 and vaulted 11 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for seventh place. Sophomore Simon Wright (73-71-72=216) shared 14th place, with junior Daniel Coker moving up seven spots into a tie for 18th place.
Senior Parker MacDonald jumped up 13 spots and claimed a share of 34th place on the strength of a 2-over 72 on Tuesday. Freshman Sam Norris climbed 10 spots on Tuesday after carding a third-round 74 and finished in a three-way deadlock for 44th.
Following a three-week break, the Trojans will co-host the McCoy Wright Currahee Collegiate Invitational, along with Erskine, Oct. 24-25, at the Currahee Club in Toccoa, Ga.
Notables
• The Trojans have won three consecutive tournament titles for the first time in program history.
• The Trojans' second- and third-round 559 set a school record.
• AU's three-round 847 marks the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history – behind just the school-record 846 set two weeks ago at North Georgia's Mizuno Intercollegiate.
• Reece Coleman's second- and third-round 137 matched the sixth-lowest 36-hole score in school history.
• Reece Coleman's three-round 208 marked the fourth-lowest score in program history.
• Calahan Keever's three-round 211 matched the 13th-lowest score in program history.
• Alejandro de Castro's 54-hole 212 matched the 17-best score in school history
• AU has won three tournaments in a season for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign.
• AU is on the cusp of winning four tournaments in a season for the first time in school history.
• The Trojans' third-round 277 matches the second-lowest single round in school history – behind just their second-round 275 in last week's AFLAC Cougar Invitational.
• AU's first- and second-round 570 equals the seventh-best two-round in school history.
• AU's second-round 282 matched the fifth-lowest round in program history.
1 Anderson 288 282 277 847
3 Reece Coleman (1) 71 68 69 208
T5 Calahan Keever (2) 72 70 69 211
T7 Alejandro de Castro (3) 72 73 67 212
T14 Simon Wright (5) 73 71 72 216
T18 Daniel Coker 76 71 72 219
T34 Parker MacDonald (4) 80 73 72 225
T44 Sam Norris 77 78 74 229
Teams Scores
1 Anderson 288 282 277 847 +7
2 Shorter 288 283 289 860 +20
3 Coker 288 279 300 867 +27
4 Limestone 291 286 293 870 +30
5 Flagler 288 294 291 873 +33
6 USC Aiken 289 288 298 875 +35
7 Erskine 290 291 296 877 +37
8 Belmont Abbey 290 303 295 888 +48
9 Young Harris 309 289 298 896 +56
10 Newberry 301 288 310 899 +59
