UMass-Lowell golfers finish fifth

What speaks volumes for the way club golf has grown exponentially under the guide of Nextgengolf is the way its national championship involved so many school teams and passionate golfers in a proper tournament setting. During the National Collegiate Club Golf Association championship at Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head Island, S.C., there was an invitational event in addition to the national event. In that invitational, the UMass-Lowell club golf team finished fifth, competing against the likes of Florida State, Maryland, Syracuse, and Iowa – major forces who finished first through fourth, respectively. For UMass-Lowell, Matthew Minichiello (74-75), Jonathan Fiers of Salisbury (76-77), Eric Roy of Lowell (77-77), Jared Carr of Milton (77-78), and Daniel Powers (84-78) accounted for the 773 strokes that left the Hawks fifth, just nine behind the winner, Florida State. Minichiello was seventh in the individual competition. Between the national championship (won by the University of Cincinnati) and the national invitational, more than 30 teams and about 250 golfers took part. Talk about filling a void.

Another solid effort by Ben James

The model of consistency, Ben James of Milford, Conn., shot 69-70-70-71 – 280 to finish third in the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions that ended Thanksgiving Day at Palm Beach National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. A high school senior who has committed to the University of Virginia, James finished just two shots out of a playoff that was won by Eric Lee over Jackson Koivun. James is third in the Golfweek Boys’ Junior rankings, first in the AJGA boys’ ranking.