BROWN SUMMIT, N.C. – Unfavorable conditions on the golf course existed. The course didn't play easily. The greens played relentlessly.
None of that surprised the North Carolina A&T men's golf team. They played the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's Golf Championships on their home course, the par-72, 7,188-yard Bryan Park Golf Club golf course, Monday and Tuesday.
The Aggies just wish they would have handled their home course a little better. N.C. A&T finished second at the MEAC championships at 54-over 774, 19 shots behind the 2021 conference champion Florida A&M (FAMU) Rattlers, who shot 755 over 45 holes played.
The Rattlers will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA championships. The four teams participating played 27 holes on Monday before finishing the tournament with 18 holes on Tuesday.
N.C. A&T entered Tuesday 10 shots behind the Rattlers. After eight holes played on Tuesday, the Aggies made some gains on the Rattlers and trailed by just eight strokes. But the Rattlers began to pull away as they shot a 13-over 301 on the final day. The Aggies, meanwhile, shot a 22-over 310 on Tuesday.
"I am a process person," said N.C. A&T coach Richard Watkins. "I never knew where we stood today because I'm just looking at what is the job we have to do right now. I genuinely and ultimately never worry about the competition. You play the golf course. If you beat the golf course, I like your chances against the other people. If you don't beat the golf course, you get what you get."
Junior Diego Gonzalez finished second individually by shooting an 8-over 188 as he earned all-tournament honors. FAMU's Ethan Morgan won the individual championship with a 4-over 184 as he joined Gonzalez on the all-tournament team. FAMU's Mahindra Lutchman and Prince Cunningham and Howard's Everett Whitten earned all-tournament honors by finishing in the top-5.
Gonzalez made three birdies on Tuesday and hit some incredible shots to save par, including one on No. 9 where he had to move a birdhouse to hit the ball to the green to save par. He had a great swing off the tee on the par-5, 492-yard 15th, to birdie the hole. Gonzalez shot 3-over on the front nine before shooting even par on the back nine as he also birdied the par-5, 543-yard, No. 11.
Junior Xavier Williams had a solid front nine as he sought to earn all-tournament honors. He bogeyed two holes on the front nine to make the turn at 2-over and in third place.
But he had trouble on the back nine and finished the day at 8-over and the tournament at 15-over to finish ninth.
"The conditions were tough, but we have dealt with this course before," said Williams. We play here and practice here just about every day, so we've seen just about everything this course has to offer. We should have played better. The greens were pretty firm. If you didn't hit the greens, it was pretty hard to get up and down today. But the greens are always fast and firm here. We play here every day; we should have been more up for the challenge."
Sophomore Diego Sanchez finished 11th at 18-over 198. Senior Casey Lindo finished in a tie for 12th at 20-over, and freshman Anthony Ford finished 14th 21-over.
The Aggies final tournament of the season will be the PGA Works Championships in Ponte Verda Beach, Fla. Until then; the Aggies will head back to practice hoping to invite more conference foes to their course with the hope of winning a championship.
"It was a lot of fun," said Williams about playing at Bryan Park. "You feel like you have a leg up on the field, but you also feel pressure because it is your home course, and you're expected to do well. I wish we would have handled today a little bit better. But we will be back."
