RC golfers place 6th at NJCAA national tournament

RC golfers place 6th at NJCAA national tournament

Brandon Shong posted one of the best rounds on the final day of play at the 2019 NJCAA National Golf Championships and helped spur the Ranger College men's golf team to a sixth-place finish in the final team standings. Ranger finished the tournament with a four-round total of 1,154 strokes and placed just shots behind Calhoun Community College.

"I'm pleased with the way the team played," said RC golf coach Houston Moore. "I don't think we played as well as we could have, but I think we have to be happy that we finished in the top 10. It is the highest we (the college) has ever finished. You have to be pleased with that, I think."

Central Alabama Community College captured the 2019 men's Division I title, posting a cumulative score of 1,116. Indian Hills Community College and Midland College finished second and third, respectively, with scores of 1,129 and 1,130. New Mexico Junior College was fourth at 1,134.

Midland College and New Mexico College are both members of Region V with Ranger.

"I think it is great that we, as a region, had three of the top six teams in the country," said Moore, who guided the Rangers to a top 10 ranking this season. "It shows how tough the region is."

Shong, who entered the tournament as Ranger's No. 2 player, starred for the Rangers at the tournament, which was held May 14-17 in Melbourne. Florida. After firing rounds of 73 and 72 in the initial two rounds, he rallied to pencil in scores of 70 and 69 in the final two rounds and finished in a tie for 10th in the individual standings with a mark of 284.

Shong was just one of six players to card rounds of 69 or below on the final day of play.

Indian Hill's Jesse MacNaughtan posted a final round of 74 en route to tying Shong with a final mark of 284.

Brandon Geere finished as the Rangers' second-best player at the tournament, checking in just six strokes behind Shong with a 290.

Geere, like Shong, turned in a middle of the pack effort in the first to rounds, posting back-to-back scores of 73 and 72. He put himself in position to secure a top 40 finish in Round 3, however, by shooting a 69.

His final round was a 76, dropping him into a tie for 30th overall.

Mark Foelbeak, who came into the tournament ranked among the nation's top small-college golfers, struggled early. He posted rounds of 79 and 78, respectively, before finding his stroke on the final two days. He shot a 71 on Day 3 and finished with a 68 on Day 4 en route to tying teammate George Faulkner for 46th overall.

Pheemawat Wimonrat narrowly missed giving Ranger five golfers in the top 50. He finished 52nd overall with a four-day total of 297.

Midland's Callum Bruce captured the individual medalist honors. He penciled in rounds of 69, 69, 67 and 66 en route to finishing with a winning score of 271. Central Alabama's Jack Poole and Owen Burt were second and third, respectively, at 275 and 276.