Dalton State athletic director Derek Waugh sends senior golfers Chase Jones and Levi Nix off to the NAIA National Championship at TPC Deere Run
Silva, Il. – Dalton State will be one of three teams teeing off the 65th annual National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men’s Golf Championship tournament on the first hole at TPC Deere Run.
“This national championship is a very different one,” said DS Coach Ben Rickett. “It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for the guys but they have come out and proved to themselves that they can compete with the best teams in the country.
What I saw at the conference championship was one of the most complete team performances I have seen from this team.”
The No. 12 ranked Roadrunners will play with 2015 national runner-up and No. 1 ranked William Woods (Mo.) and No. 6 Keiser (Fl.) for the first two rounds of the four-day tournament. They are scheduled to start on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. CDT.
“It will be good to get the national championship started,” said Rickett. “At the end of the day, we are glad to have the opportunity to play in our second NAIA championship in as many years of eligibility. We will be prepared to play at the time that we were assigned.”
The Roadrunners and two-time national champion Coastal Georgia represent the SSAC. The No. 2 ranked Mariners will begin the opening round at 8:20 a.m. on the first hole with Texas Wesleyan and Southeastern (Fl.).
Beginning the day on No. 10 will be Johnson & Wales (Fl.), University of the Cumberlands (Ky.), and Mount Mercy (Iowa).
Day one’s afternoon starts at 12 p.m., as Taylor (In), Oklahoma Wesleyan and Northwestern Ohio tee off on the front nine. Marian (In.), Reinhardt (Ga.) and Embry-Riddle (Az.) open the championship on the back nine at 12:30 p.m.
The start times flip on day two with Marian, Reinhardt and Embry-Riddle teeing off at on No. 1 at 7:50 p.m. while Taylor, Oklahoma Wesleyan and Northwestern Ohio are off at No.10 at 7:30 a.m. Johnson & Wales, Cumberlands and Mount Mercy start their second rounds at 12:30 p.m.
Dalton State, Keiser, and William Woods swing off the tenth. Day two for Coastal Georgia will begin on hole 10 at 12:50 p.m.
The 156-player field consists of 20 automatic qualifying teams, 10 at-large berths, and seven individual golfers.
Seniors Chase Jones and Levi Nix were the first golfers signed by the young Dalton State athletic program and they hope to go out in style in the team’s second year of postseason eligibility. The seniors expressed pride in being part of the golf team’s beginning.
“This is the last tournament for some of the players’ collegiate careers and it’s time to have fun and see what happens,” said Rickett. “The hard work, the preparation has been part of the process since August and now is the time to see where we stack up against the best in the country.”
Rickett said the new championship venue is something to be excited about. “TPC Deer Run is a new place that none of us have seen, but we are enthusiastic about playing the course where the John Deere Classic is held each year. It is nice to know that this is the end of season regardless. Let’s see if we can finish this season in style.”
Roadrunner junior Sean Elliott is the defending NAIA national championship medalist. Elliott’s 16-under-par 272 broke a 60-year old tournament scoring record. The 2015 championship was held at the Hills Course at LPGA International in Daytona Beach.
Elliott has seen limited playing time after he was injured early this spring. “When he came back, he played very well and he is now 100 percent,” Rickett said. Dalton State won the three-round SSAC Championship in Montgomery by 23-strokes over two time defending national champions Coastal Georgia.