DICKSON, Tenn. – Piedmont men’s golf brought home another trophy, claiming the team title at the Greystone Fall Invitational on Sunday afternoon.
In the 36-hole, one-day event, the Lions raced out to a fast start and held off a number of chasers in the final round to finish at 7-under par as a team, three clear of Oglethorpe and Berry.
Junior Adam Rogers delivered a solo second place finish out of 79 golfers, firing consecutive under par rounds of 68 and 71 to finish at 5-under and just one stroke behind the top of the individual leaderboard.
Coming off a final round 67 at last week’s Transylvania Invitational, sophomore Jacob DeJesus picked up right where he left off, with a 4-under 68 in the opening. Although he fell back with a 75 in the second/final round, he still finished under par in the event, good for a T-6 finish.
After sharing low medalist honors at this event last year, Cam Lucas proved it was not a fluke, catching fire in the final round with a career-best 4-under 68 to finish at 2-under for the event and solo fifth place. Lucas made two eagles in his final round to propel him to All-Tournament honors.
Joining Rogers and DeJesus on the team that claimed the title, sophomore Doug Gugel continued his solid play, carding a 1-under 71 in the first round to help the Lions race out to the early lead.
In his Piedmont debut, freshman Elliot Mehler delivered solid rounds of 2-over 74 and 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 24th.
Senior Kayden White played a crucial role in the Lions holding on to the lead in the final round, as he bounced back from an opening round of 81 to fire a career best in the final round of 2-under 70.
Newcomer Drew Anness improved in his final round by three strokes to finish +9 for the event.
The Piedmont B Team delivered a seventh place team finish out of 12, and was led by senior Connor Lane, who fired back-to-back par-or-better rounds to finish T-6th and -1 overall. Lane opened with an even par 72 and closed with a 1-under 71.
Caleb Vancil finish T-30th after shooting an even par 72 in the first round before a final round of 4-over 76. Senior Ryan Colwelldelivered the inverse performance to Vancil, opening with a 4-over 76 and improving by four to shoot an even par 72, a career-low round.
Sophomore Jackson Wyrick had a solid first round, with a career-best 1-over 73 in his opening and closing with a 6-over 78.
Fellow sophomore Aaron Martin Del Campo joined the group of Lions with great bounce back rounds, improving by eight strokes from his first to his final round and tying his career low of even par 72.
Newcomers Walker Faust (+13) and Connor Fahey (+14) competed as individuals while Remo Scholl (+15) competed with the Lions’ B Team.
The win marks two team titles in Piedmont’s last three events, as it also took home the crown at the 2023 CCS Championship.
The Lions will tee it up next at the Gate City Invitational, beginning Monday, September 30 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
LIONS ON THE LEADERBOARD:
2nd: Adam Rogers, 68-71 (-5)
5th: Cam Lucas (IND), 74-68 (-2)
T-6th: Jacob DeJesus, 68-75 (-1)
T-6th: Connor Lane (B), 72-71 (-1)
T-15th: Doug Gugel, 71-74 (+1)
T-24th: Elliot Mehler, 74-73 (+3)
T-30th: Caleb Vancil (B), 72-76 (+4)
T-30th: Ryan Colwell (B), 76-72 (+4)
T-47th: Kayden White (B), 81-70 (+7)
T-47th: Jackson Wyrick (B), 73-78 (+7)
T-57th: Aaron Martin Del Campo (B), 80-72 (+8)
T-61st: Drew Anness, 78-75 (+9)
70th: Walker Faust (IND), 81-76 (+13)
T-71st: Connor Fahey (IND), 79-79 (+14)
73rd: Remo Scholl (B), 79-80 (+15)
COACH’S CORNER (Hear from Piedmont Head Coach Dustin Meadows after the win):
“I’m super proud of everyone here. It’s always special when the family can travel together. It was great to have Coach (Jim) Peeples out here again. He’s an X factor and gives me extra coverage on the course.”
“The A side led wire to wire. To do that you have to have confidence, poise and composure. Doing it against staples in the DIII game lik Transylvania, Berry, Greensboro and Oglethorpe was awesome.”
“Moving forward we just need to stay focused on our process. We do that, we can keep having moments like this.”
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Rogers delivered back-to-back under par performances for the second time in his carer and his second place finish marks the best of his career.
- Lucas delivered his second career top-five finish, with both coming at the Greystone Fall Invitational. His final round of 4-under 68 is the best of his Piedmont career.
- Jacob DeJesus delivered back-to-back rounds in the 60’s with his first round 68. His T-6th finish marks the best of his career.
- Connor Lane now has three consecutive rounds at par-or-better, dating back to last season’s CCS Championship final round.
- Caleb Vancil and Ryan Colwell each fired career-low rounds of 72.
- Kayden White fired a career low round of 2-under 70 in the final round to help the Lions fend off their chasers.
- Jackson Wyrick carded a career-best 73 in the first round.
- Aaron Martin Del Campo tied his career low round of 72 in the final round.
