St. Leo freshman Hugo Bernard after NCAA Division II Medalist title
(St. Leo University Photo)
DENVER, CO (May 19, 2016) - St. Leo freshman
Hugo
Bernard won the university’s first national championship
in any sport, breaking the tournament record at -13 to
capture the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf individual title.
Bernard entered the day with a healthy lead and
shot an even-par 72 to stay at -13, winning by two
strokes over Western New Mexico’s Calum Hill. He broke
the 54-hole championship record with his score, which
had stood since 2012. Bernard shot rounds of 65, 66,
and 72.
While there was little drama in the individual
standings, the race for the top eight team spots and
berths in the medal match play rounds came down to
the wire. Wilmington (Del.) earned its first trip to the
quarterfinals by a single stroke (+2) over Central
Oklahoma (+3), and Dallas Baptist was only another
shot back.
As St. Leo (-26), Chico State (-14), and Florida
Southern (-13) ran away with the top of the
leaderboard, there was plenty to play for below them as
Lynn and Barry (both -6) held their spots, Cal Baptist
(-1) moved up two spots to sixth, and West Florida
played its way in with the day’s best team round at -8
to move from 10th after the second round to seventh.
Quarterfinal play is set for Friday morning, with
semifinal matches Friday afternoon and the
championship on Saturday.
Medal Match Play Quarterfinal Qualifiers
[1] St. Leo vs. [8] Wilmington
[2] Chico State vs. [7] West Florida
[3] Florida Southern vs. [6] Cal Baptist
[4] Lynn vs. [5] Barry
QUOTABLES
“It’s pretty fun. I enjoy it – but I’ll be honest with
you, today he wasn’t my friend [laughs]. We’ve played
junior golf together since we were 13 years old.” –
NCAA individual champion Hugo Bernard on his
friendship with teammate Joey Savoie, who started the
day second and finished 11th.
“I’m proud of them. It’s the first time from our
[East] region that anyone has been here.” - Wilmington
(Del.) head coach Harry Jennings, whose unranked
Wildcats made the final eight for the first time.
“We’ve just been really patient here the last month
of the season, letting the game come to us and not
forcing the issue. We tend to get better as the
tournaments go on.” – Cal Baptist head coach John
Hackney, whose Lancers had the second-lowest team
round of the day to secure their medal match play spot.
NOTABLES
- Hugo Bernard is St. Leo’s first NCAA champion – team
or individual – in any sport. His -13 broke the 54-hole
record co-held by Central Oklahoma’s Josh Creel and
Colorado School of Mines’ Jim Knous (2012).
- St. Leo smashed the 54-hole team record at NCAA
Championships at -26, ten strokes under Florida
Southern’s pace in 1999.
- Runner-up Calum Hill of Western New Mexico matched
the highest-ever finish by a Rocky Mountain Athletic
Conference golfer at NCAA Championships. His 67 (-5)
moved him up four spots from Wednesday.
- Limestone’s Griffin Brown took third place at -10 with
a final day 70.
- West Florida’s final-day move was largely thanks to
Jacob Huizinga, who bounced back from an opening-
round 77 to smash a 65 on Thursday, tied for the low
round of the tournament. Huizinga closed t16,
advancing 43 spots in round three.
Team Standings (Top 10)
1. St. Leo (838)
2. Chico State (850)
3. Florida Southern (851)
4. Lynn (858)
5. Barry (858)
6. Cal Baptist (863)
7. West Florida (864)
8. Wilmington (866)
9. Central Oklahoma (867)
10. Dallas Baptist (868)
Individual Final Standings (Top 10)
1. Hugo Bernard, St. Leo (-13, 65-66-72—203)
2. Calum Hill, Western New Mexico (-11, 69-69-67—
205)
3. Griffin Brown, Limestone (-10, 69-67-70—206)
4. John Coultas, Florida Southern (-9, 70-68-69—207)
t5. Garrett Fey, Dallas Baptist (-8, 73-66-69—208)
t5. Mateo Gomez, Lynn (-8, 70-69-69—208)
t5. Richard Mansell, Nova Southeastern (-8, 69-68-71—
208)
t8. John Clare, Le Moyne (-7, 69-72-68—209)
t8. Kavan Eubank, Cal Baptist (-7, 69-71-69—209)
t8. Liam Ainsworth, St. Leo (-7, 71-70-68—209)
Round 3 Low Rounds (Par 72)
Jacob Huizinga, West Florida - 65
Calum Hill, Western New Mexico – 67
Justin Wiles, Chico State – 67
Editors Note: Story by NCAA.com
ABOUT THE
NCAA Division II Championship
The National Championship of championship of
NCAA
Division II
men's college golf teams. From its inception through
2010, it was a 72-hole stroke play team
competition,
with an additional award for the lowest scoring
individual competitor. The team format changed
starting in 2011 to 54 holes of stroke play followed
by an eight-team single elimination medal match
play competition. The 54-hole individual leader is
the
individual champion.
View Complete Tournament Information