Sports

Four-get it

• After winning the last three NJCAA Division II National Championships, the Darton College golf team falls short in its bid for a fourth consecutive, as Tyler Texas Junior College goes wire-to-wire.

Greg Demmitt
Special to The Herald

The double rainbow that framed Palm Valley Golf Course as the final threesome came up Hole No. 18 had to seem ironic to the weary golfers who had battled four days of 100-plus degree temperatures that fell into the 60’s, wind gusts of 45 miles per hour and two lightening delays at the NJCAA Division II National Championships II golf tournament.

 At the end of it all, Tyler (Texas) Junior College (four-day total of 1,172) claimed the title and denied Darton College (1,175) its attempt to repeat as champion for the fourth time in as many years at Goodyear, Ariz., on Friday. Mesa (Ariz) Community College (1185) finished third.

For the third day in a row the Cavs posted the best team total but couldn’t overcome the 19-shot lead Tyler built on the first day of the tournament.

“We had the chance to win and we just didn’t get it done,” Darton coach Dale Dover said.

Trailing by six at the beginning of the round, Darton pulled with one at the end of the first nine and had a brief lead as Evan Hanna birdied 10 and 11.

But the Apaches regrouped while Coleman Calhoun and Matt Smith dropped nine strokes on the back nine.

“We had two triple bogeys that we had to count,” Dover lamented.

Darton’s Jin Chung had a tough triple bogey on No. 5. Going to the tee at one-under, the drizzling rain turned into a downpour and he hit out of bounds, then hit his provisional shot to an unplayable lie against a wall.

Two minutes after his dismal tee shot, the rain stopped and the sun came out.

Chung still finished with a 73 and the Cavs’ other freshman, Evan Hanna, posted his team’s tournament best 68 that helped him earned a spot as a first-team all-American.

“I’m not too happy right now,” he said shortly after the match. “We played really solid all through the week.”

Dover says that his freshmen have been a bright spot all season.

“Jin was probably all season our best player,” he said. “I told everyone that Evan was going to give us two good rounds. His game was well-suited to this course with the way that he keeps the ball low.”

 All the Cavs continued to shake their heads at the tournament record 275 shot by Tyler on the first day and especially the 62 from Blaine Weiterman. He finished the tournament with rounds of 81, 76 and 73.

“That 62,” lamented Chesley Gunn. “That’s what did it.”

Tyler had plenty of motivation to defend its Division II record of five consecutive titles, plus two of the Apaches were on the team that lost last year to the Cavaliers.

“Hell yes we want to beat them,” said medalist Marc Rice of Tyler. “The coach told us that the last four holes would make the difference and we all parred 18.”

Tyler coach Sandy Terry didn’t coach any of the record five consecutive titles but did win one in 2003.

“You have to be a little lucky when you win more than one in a row,” he said.

The final five threesomes ranged from the 13th to the 16th holes and it appeared that Tyler had begun to rebuild its lead. When play resumed, the Cavs made up a little ground on the 16th but Tyler’s solid performance down the stretch secured the win.

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