Byron, IL – Carl Sandburg College men’s golfers Grant Otting (Taylor Ridge, Ill./Rockridge) and Cole Hopping (Vermont, Ill./VIT) notched top-10 finishes Friday at the Region IV Division II tournament and qualified for next spring’s NJCAA Division II national tournament.
The Chargers finished third as team, just one place out of a national-qualifier spot, as they concluded their fall season with the 54-hole tournament at Prairie View Golf Club. The top two teams and top six individuals not from those teams qualified for the NJCAA Division II Championship from May 18-21 at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind.
Otting finished with a 239 total (78-77-84) for the tournament, putting him in a tie for fifth. Hopping was two shots behind him at 241 (81-79-81), tying for ninth and earning the last of the individual-qualifier spots. Otting and Hopping also earned spots on the All-Region IV team for finishing in the top 15 for the tournament. Chargers sophomore Trace White (Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Mount Pleasant) shot 247 (82-79-86) and will be the region’s fifth alternate for nationals.
This is the ninth straight year and 13th time in the last 14 years that Sandburg men’s golf has qualified a team or individual for nationals.
The Chargers finished the tourney with a 983 total after posting rounds of 324, 320 and 339. Sandburg’s second-round 320 was the best of any team in the field. The Chargers ended 10 shots behind runner-up Illinois Valley. Bryant & Stratton shot 970 as a team to win the region championship.
Illinois Valley’s Ian Roach was medalist with a 229, shooting 76-74-79 and beating Black Hawk’s Peyton Perez by three strokes.
***Report courtesy of Carl Sandburg College***
