Tartans Place 11th at NCAA Championships
(NICHOLASVILLE, Ky.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's golf team turned in the program's best finish on the national stage when the Tartans finished 11th at the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships on Friday with a score of 1,216 over four rounds. The 72-hole championship event was played at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with the final two rounds played on the par-72, 7,190-yard Champion Trace Course. In 2009, the team finished 22nd while the Tartans ended play at the 2017 championships in 31st.
Illinois Wesleyan University won the national championship with a four round score of 1,174 (287-291-302-294). Huntingdon College was the runner-up finishing three strokes behind the Titans. Sam Goldenring of Williams College was crowned the individual medalist after carding a three-under par 285.
Sophomore Jason Li (Sewickley, Pa./Sewickley Academy) led the Tartans on Friday with a two-over par 74 which gave him a 72-hole total of seven-over par 295 (74-72-75-74) and placed him 11th individually in a field of 216 golfers. Li's finish of 11th at the national event marks the highest individual finish in program history and also is a school record for the best four-round score. George Quin placed 30th in 2017 with a 300.
Freshman Henry Scavone (Birmingham, Mich./Birmingham Seaholm) carded his best round of the tournament on Friday with a three-over par 75. The first-year player ended tied for 44th with a 305 (76-77-77-75). Sophomore Jason Folker (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and freshman William Knauth (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) tied for 57th with a 308. Folker posted rounds of 76, 71, 83 and 78 while Knauth carded rounds of 81, 72, 78, 77.
Senior Austin Lin (Los Gatos, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) entered the clubhouse Friday with his best round of the championships with a 79. The senior ended his collegiate career with a 72-hole score of 331 after recording three straight rounds of 84 to go with his 79 in the final round.
Scavone's 305 is the third best four-round score in program history while Folker's and Knauth's 308 total rank tied for fifth.