The PGA of America
Series: PGA Feature
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Drama ruled the day on Sunday at PGA Golf Club, as the University of Texas-Pan American took home the Men’s Division I title and Bethune-Cookman University claimed its Championship-record ninth team title in the Women’s Team Division at the 26th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by Brown Capital Management.Texas-Pan American, the first-round leader, used a furious comeback to claim its fifth overall title.
2012 PGA MINORITY COLLEGIATE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
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The Broncs, who finished with a total team score of 904, trailed Tennessee State University by five strokes entering the final round. But the team used a solid 1-under-par 71 by team captain Kevin Kirakossian, and solid play by the rest of the team to win the division by two strokes over Tennessee State.
Bethune-Cookman University and Savannah State University tied for third at 911. Savannah State senior Cedomir Ilic of Serbia took home medalist honors in the Division with a 220 total in the 54-hole event.
“My team has worked hard all year and it really paid off today,” said Ofelia Lopez, the director of golf at the University of Texas-Pan American. “They came out with fire and determination and looking to win a title. And it happened.”
Lopez was particularly impressed with Kirakossian, a junior from Oregon.
“He has always been our go-to guy,” said Lopez. “He plays to win and plays for his team. That’s what a leader is all about. That’s what being a team captain is all about.”
The Bethune-Cookman women’s team, which led South Carolina State University by five strokes entering the final round, used a team effort to take home its second consecutive title, this time by eight strokes. The Wildcats finished with a 916 team total.
Hampton (Va.) University finished third at 956.
“We fought all year and it all led to this,” said head coach and PGA Professional Scooter Clark. “We needed to come out and respond to South Carolina State, who played great, and we did. It was no doubt a challenge.”
Tiana Jones of Alliance, Ohio, was the medalist in the Women’s Team Division. The junior opened with an 82 on Friday, but bounced back with a sparkling 68 on Saturday, and a solid 74 in the final round on the Ryder Course.
Jones also earned an exemption from the LPGA into one Symetra Tour event during the 2012 or 2013 season.
“I wanted to play smart but I also wanted to play aggressive,” said Jones. “I was dreaming about winning the individual title last night and my heart was in my throat all day. It feels awesome.”
In Division II, Fayetteville (N.C.) State University ran away with the title, winning the division by 36 strokes and finishing with an 896 total.
The Broncos were led all weekend by Junior Jake Barge. The Fayetteville native shot a final-round 70 on the Ryder Course, and also claimed Division medalist honors.
“It was great for our team to get back in the winner’s circle this year,” said Barge. “We haven’t won since 2009 so this is really satisfying. We got the job done.”
Lincoln University of Jefferson City, Mo., finished second overall, while Morehouse College of Atlanta, finished alone in third.
In the Men’s Independent Division, Justin Watkins from the University of Central Oklahoma took home medalist honors after a final-round 78.
Aaron Burton of Adelphi University in New York finished second, two strokes back of Watkins. Casey Foster of Central Oklahoma was third.
“It wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to finish but I was still able to close it out with a win,” said Watkins. “I am exhausted mentally, but was still able to hold it together. It feels amazing.”
In the Women’s Independent Division, Ariel McNair of Xavier University closed with a 76 to win the title by two strokes over Mia Campbell of Alabama State University.
Shanequa Valentine of Prairie View A&M University finished third.
“I made a couple of birdies on the back nine which really propelled me to this win,” said Campbell. “It was a grind all day, but was satisfying to finish strong like this.”
The 2012 Championship was played on the Wanamaker and Ryder Courses at PGA Golf Club, and featured nearly 180 players representing over 40 colleges and universities.
The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by Brown Capital Management, which celebrated its 26th edition this year, originated in November 1986 following the Jackson State University Golf Tournament and has elevated golf in minority colleges and universities by providing opportunities to more players to compete in a national championship.
In 2006, The PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management of the championship by the National Minority Collegiate Golf Scholarship Fund. In 2008, the Championship featured a record number of participants, with nearly 200 students from 47 schools, with representatives from 14 countries.
Final-Round Scores
Men’s Team Division I
1. Texas-Pan American 294-309-301–904
Kevin Kirakossian 73-78-71–222
Santiago Bueno Bragado 72-73-79–224
Mathew Charles 74-78-73–225
Jonathan Sloss 75-80-78–233
Chris Felix 76-82-79–237
2. Tennessee State 302-296-308–906
Cameron Scitern 74-74-76–224
Ryan Pierson 75-73-76–224
Dallas Hill 79-81-80–240
James Stepp 77-77-80–234
Andrew Warner 76-72-76–224
T3. Bethune-Cookman 306-303-302–911
Matthew Mcknight 77-77-79–233
JaMichael Jones 80-76-73–229
Alex Clapp 74-74-80–228
Emmanuel Petrich 75-80-72–227
Rafael Abad 83-76-78–237
T3. Savannah State 304-308-299–911
Cedomir Ilic 76-72-72–220
Travis Roe 76-79-76–231
Ryan Lassiter 75-82-76–233
Brandon Neals 77-84-75–236
Calib Simons 80-75-81–236
5. Alabama State 301-311-307–919
Scott Benson 77-73-71–221
John Montgomery 74-77-72–223
Jose Rodriguez 85-NC
Robert Grant 73-79-84–236
Joseph Killebrew 77-82-80–239
6. Florida A&M 306-309-308–923
Justin Stills 78-77-70–225
Cody Sapp 80-83-79–242
Randon Holt 87-74-79–240
Anthony Phipps II 76-77-84–237
Shephard Archie III 72-81-80–233
7. Arkansas at Pine Bluff 305-318-326–949
Caleb Ray 75-84-84–243
Nqobani Ndabambi 75-77-77–229
Gregory Robinson 78-76-83–237
Shane Kelly 77-81-82–240
Elliott Rollins, Jr. 86-87-84–257
8. Texas Southern 322-321-322–965
Dominique Worthen 78-80-67–225
Jason Barton 78-73-78–229
Michael Calvillo 87-87-92–266
Quinton Leonard 93-90-91–274
Luis Colon Gonzalez 79-81-86–246
9. Maryland-Eastern Shore 322-329-333–984
Mike Veverka 78-76-79–233
Greg Raad 81-85-83–249
Paul Cecil 82-85-84–251
Christopher Toney 81-83-87–251
Sedrick Bailey 92-98-98–288
10. North Carolina Central 333-343-345–1021
Spencer Jones 78-80-82–240
Ryne Toole 83-85-82–250
Andre Jones 84-86-82–252
Walter Batts 88-92-99–279
Jack Waissen 115-100-108–323
11. Hampton 351-359-346–1056
Geoffrey Napper 100-93-102–295
Curtis Fearrington 79-82-77–238
Mark Irwin 91-88-92–271
Tyler Davis 90-103-94–287
Sean Moore 91-96-83–270
Men’s Team Division II
1. Fayetteville State 300-293-303–896
Jake Barge 72-71-70–213
Brandon Jobe 80-74-76–230
Jedidiah Frazier 71-73-76–220
Lincoln Jackson 77-75-81–233
Michael Wallace 81-89-NC
2. Lincoln 313-305-314–932
Steven Mallow 84-74-77–235
Jacob Sandbothe 77-77-76–230
Kyle Brennaman 76-76-83–235
Eric Kosmatka 76-78-78–232
Jordan Morris 93-86-87–266
3. Morehouse College 319-323-313–955
Bryan McElderry 78-75-82–235
Clifton Jordan 81-85-79–245
Justin McElderry 78-84-78–240
Alexander Atkinson 82-84-78–244
Bruce Cousin 85-80-78–243
4. Virginia State 317-338-328–983
Stephen Genchi 70-NC
Rashad Hunt 79-84-83–246
Aaron Bryant 88-88-77–253
Adam Clary 82-80-83–245
Dalton Jolly 86-86-85–257
5. Benedict College 344-328-330–1002
Anthony Wik 83-82-80–245
Eddie Smith III 94-80-79–253
Jordan Buchanan 78-75-84–237
Kelly Willis 89-91-87–267
6. Paine College 341-332-337–1010
Carlos Solis 76-74-75–225
Victor Tapia 82-82-77–241
Patrick Mobley 90-82-85–257
Ralpph Godbee 93-94-100–287
Keith Godbee 123-116-122–361
7. Winston Salem State 341-335-339–1015
Glendon Mabe 75-77-82–234
Zach Sheets 83-78-74–235
Mike Asbury 86-82-80–248
Kyle Collins 97-98-103–298
8. Kentucky State 362-346-360–1068
George Dundon 89-86-96–271
Josh Jackson 83-81-77–241
RhoShawn Johnson 99-82-84–265
Carlton Foreman 104-107-103–314
Women’s Team Division
1. Bethune-Cookman 305-311-300–916
Patrizia Trevisan 72-79-74–225
Estefania Acosta 78-75-80–233
Andrea Orozco 74-79-76–229
Marie Bergelin 81-78-75–234
Jennifer Hide 81-81-75–237
2. South Carolina State 324-297-303–924
Tiana Jones 82-68-74–224
Cheryl Chua 79-76-74–229
Carmen Jones 83-87-78–248
Cherie Chua 82-79-78–239
Cabriel Duren 81-74-77–232
3. Hampton 329-314-313–956
Kayla Williams 80-76-81–237
Nicole West 83-76-71–230
Iman Ellis 87-87-86–260
Dionne West 81-85-78–244
Maria Stewart 85-77-83–245
4. Texas-Pan American 329-322-318–969
Sam Garcia 80-82-76–238
Elena Arroyo 84-76-78–238
Blake Peterson 87-82-82–251
Marisa Canales 78-82-82–242
Ashley Garcia 89-83-85–257
5. Lincoln 351-332-312–995
Kaitlyn Schwartze 81-84-74–239
Payton Schooler 84-74-82–240
Shea Colley 87-87-82–256
Sophia Pardalos 100-87-74–261
Kara Harwood 99-98-90–287
6. Texas Southern 337-339-321—997
Kassandra Rivera 78-82-70–230
Adrianna Trevino 89-86-77–252
Bridget Johnston 89-81-89–259
Tyler Lawrence 85-90-85–260
Angela Rafac 85-98-89–272
Men’s Independent Division
Justin Watkins, University of Central Oklahoma – 74-74-78–226
Aaron Burton, Adelphi University – 79-75-74–228
Casey Foster, University of Central Oklahoma – 80-76-76–232
Juan Diego Fernandez, Louisburg College – 83-72-78–233
Julio Gonzalez Galvan, Louisburg College – 77-74-83–234
Louis Kelly, Adelphi University – 76-74-84–234
Michael Ferguson, Univ. of Maryland East Shore – 79-81-82–242
Joseph Morrison, Alabama State University – 82-81-80–243
Christopher Davis, Carroll University – 74-87-84–245
Corey Price, Alabama State University – 88-82-75–245
Barry Davis, Alabama State University – 78-89-79–246
Minsoo Soh, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 87-82-78–247
Jacob Mendez III, Calumet College of Saint Joseph – 86-79-83–248
Lawrence McKenzie, Livingstone College – 89-79-81–249
Erik Potts, Hannibal-LaGrange University – 85-83-82–250
Ben Davis, Calumet College of Saint Joseph – 86-86-83–255
Bryan Martin, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 85-90-83–258
Joseph Journey, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 85-89-85–259
Edgar Evans Jr., Southern University Baton Rouge – 87-83-90–260
Norris Brown, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 84-90-87–261
Sean Wilson, Chowan University – 96-90-88–274
Delton Pounds, Mississippi Gulf Coast CC – 98-88-89–275
Michael Harden, Clemson University – 97-93-94–284
Richard Sheppard, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 98-91-99–288
Patrick Harris, Methodist University – 98-97-98–293
Dylan Watts, Edward Waters College – 99-95-100–294
William Brown, Prairie View A&M – 100-97-99–296
Richard Fleming, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 102-100-97–299
Charlois R. Fletcher, Louisburg College – 96-105-106–307
Spencer Smith, Edward Waters College – 112-126-109–347
Anthony Long, Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore – 89-91-WD–WD
Buddy Senatore, California Polytechnic State Univ. – 80-87-WD–WD
Joseph Sable, Prairie View A&M – 117-88-WD–WD
Women’s Independent Division
Ariel McNair, Xavier University – 84-79-76–239
Mia Campbell, Alabama State Univ. – 83-80-78–241
Shanequa Valentine, Prairie View A&M – 88-78-78–244
Whitney Young, Wheeling Jesuit University – 85-89-85–259
Alexandra Uduk, Univ. of Maryland East Shore – 98-87-83–268
Michelle Gifford, Savannah State University – 98-90-93–281
Allison Brown, SCSU – 105-106-96–307
Cheiwah Ferguson, Texas Southern University – 106-103-100–309
Jamie Bruce, Benedict College – 112-119-111–342
