By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Plymouth, Ind.---The No. 3 Owens Community College men's golf team shot a 298 in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament today.
The team sits in second place overall behind No. 2 Walters State (Tenn.) Community College, who shot a 297 for the first round. Owens is tied with Mesa (AZ) Community College at 298, while Parkland (IL) College shot a 300 for fourth place.
Individually, Philippe Weppernig (Luzern, Switzerland) shot a team-low 73, which puts him six strokes off the current leader, Sebastian Otoya of Seminole (OK) State. Harrison Long (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) followed Weppernig with a 74, while Brandon Hoelzer (Fremont Ross/Fremont, Ohio) shot a 75.
Kirby Manown (Belle Vernon/Belle Vernon, Penn.) was just behind Hoelzer with a 76. Dru Hein (Jasper/Jasper, Ind.) rounded out the lineup with an 82.
"I thought we did pretty well," said Owens men's golf head coach Josh Williams. "The conditions were tough as the wind picked up and the greens were fast, but I was very, very pleased."
Notes
Today's round was the first of four as the final round will take place Friday.
The tournament is being held at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind.