By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Perrysburg, Ohio---Karit Kitipongpatana (St. Dominic School/Bangkok, Thailand) fired a 5-under 67 to lead the Owens Community College men's golf team to a first place finish in Owens Invitational No. 1 at Belmont Country Club this afternoon.
In addition to Kitipongpatana, Owens finished with the tournament's top four low scores with a 284, which placed them 26 shots ahead of second place Cincinnati State. Columbus State finished in third at 317, while Lakeland finished at 325 to finish in fourth place.
The top four golfers included Kitipongpatana, Will Mullins (St. Bernadette's/Bristol, U.K.) at 1-under 71, Bandit Chaisuk (Phathumthapwittayakarn/Nong Khai, Thailand) at 72 and Harrison Quirk (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) at 74.
The highest finishing non-Owens golfer was Columbus State's Philip Campisi, who shot a 75 for fifth place.
Dylan Holsclaw (Plainfield/Plainfield, Ill.) tied Columbus State's Colin Dawson for 10th place with a 78. Holsclaw fired a 35 on the front nine.
Dominic DiGiacomo (Ocean City/Ocean City, N.J.) shot a 79 to finish in sole possession of 12th place for Owens, while Wyatt Spalding (Summerfield/Petersburg, Mich.) shot an 80 to tie three others for 13th place.
Three others also participated for Owens including Zach Doom (Mason/Erie, Mich.), who finished tied for 16th with an 81, Brett Menser (Tipp City/Tipp City, Ohio), who had an 84 to tie for 21st place and Travis Focht (Oak Harbor/Oak Harbor, Ohio), who shot a 91 and finished in 28th place.
Owens, who previously clinched the 2016 Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) championship, strengthened its hold on first place in the conference with the win. They will host the season's final conference tournament at Belmont tomorrow beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Notes
Mullins remains in first place in the conference standings, while Kitipongpatana's 67 has vaulted him into second place heading into tomorrow. Furthermore, Chaisuk's 72 now has him positioned in the top five.
Owens has now won six of the seven conference tournaments so far this spring. Today's 284 easily sets a new season-low as a team, besting their two 292s on April 16 and 17 in Columbus.
Today's 284 was also the team's lowest score since a round of 277 on April 9, 2014 at the Trine Invitational.
Tomorrow's tournament will be the final home and conference tournament for the Owens men's golf program after the college announced the suspension of the program beginning next season.