DICKSON, Tn.—A strong finish helped the No. 12 Oglethorpe men’s golf team take runner-up Sunday at the Southern Athletic Association Championships. Junior Jackson Hiller won the event individually with an 8 under par to claim SAA athlete of the year by one stroke.
The event took place at Greystone Golf Club with a field that featured several of the nation’s best. No. 6 Sewanee took the team title, No. 12 Oglethorpe finished just 13 strokes back in second, No. 14 Trinity took third and No. 16 Southwestern took sixth. Teams played 54 holes across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Hiller (66-74-68) became the 16th Stormy Petrel to win individual medalist honors in Oglethorpe history. His 66 on day one is tied for second all-time for 18-hole scoring by a Petrel at the conference championships. He led at the end of day one but dropped to fourth in the middle round after shooting 2 over par on Saturday. This only set up an incredible finish as Hiller then fired the second lowest round of day three to charge ahead for medalist honors.
Hiller trailed by four with eight holes to go but posted three straight birdies on the back nine to help surge into the lead, then wrapped up his round with five straight pars to hold on to his one-stroke lead.
Hiller’s score on the final day was second only to Barton Abstein (72-72-66), who after firing back-to-back consistent rounds of even par on the first two days, finished his debut conference championship with a career best 66 of his own, also tying for second on Oglethorpe’s all-time conference scoring list. Abstein moved up eight spots to take fourth overall and earn all-SAA first team honors.
Ryan Dunn (70-70-72) joined Hiller and Abstein on the All-SAA first team with a fifth-place finish two strokes back at 4 under for the tournament. Dunn finished the championship with an even par after shooting 2 under on each of the first two rounds.
Hiller and Dunn both made all-SAA for the third time in as many collegiate seasons. They both earned co-freshmen of the year and all-SAA second team honors as freshmen before landing first team honors last year as sophomores.
As a team, Oglethorpe (283-289-278) topped a pair of other nationally-ranked programs, including No. 14 Trinity by three strokes and No. 16 Southwestern by 23 strokes. Trinity held the advantage heading into Sunday until the Petrels stormed ahead with the combined 10 under par effort.
Up Next
Oglethorpe will wait for the formal announcement for NCAA Championships qualifying teams. The national event is set for Tuesday-Friday, May 12-15, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, with Oglethorpe as host.
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