BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – North Carolina A&T men's golf team concluded the 2022-23 men's golf season on a positive note Wednesday afternoon. Graduate golfer Diego Gonzalez did the same. As a result, head coach Richard Watkins saw his coaching career end with the Aggies playing well.
The end of the tournaments means Watkins has now entered retirement after 45 years in public education, 32 years as a professor, mentor and coach at A&T, and seven years as the first-ever women's and men's head golf coach. Watkins' Aggies finished the 2023 PGA Works Collegiate Championship in second place at the par-72, 7,025-yard Shoal Creek Club golf course.
The Aggies shot a 54-hole, three-round 32-over 892 over three days. Second place marked the Aggies' highest finish of the season. Alabama A&M held the second-place spot after the second round but fell off on Wednesday, leading a path for the Aggies to move up the leaderboard. Howard won the tournament by increasing its lead by shooting a third-round 4-under 284.
The Bison won the tournament with a three-round 25-under 835 to finish 57 shots ahead of A&T. Florida A&M moved up two spots to finish third at 42-over 902. The Alabama State Hornets finished two shots behind the Rattlers at 44-over 904. Chicago State rounded out the top-5 with a 46-over 906.
Gonzalez's collegiate career ended with him finishing in a fourth-place tie as he moved up four spots from Tuesday's finish. On Wednesday, he shot an even-par 72 to finish with a three-round even-par 215. Gonzalez finished 14 shots off the lead as Howard's Everett Whiten Jr. shot a third-round 8-under 64 and won the tournament by posting a 14-under 201.
The Bison finished one, two and three on the leaderboard. Gregory Odom, Jr. finished with a 5-under 210, and Marcus Smith ended the tournament with a 4-under 211. Gonzalez finished in a tie with Chicago State's Kieran Hogarth.
Gonzalez had a blistering front nine. He went bogey-free on the front nine and ran into his first birdie of the round at the par-3, 170-yard fifth. He followed that with a four on the par-5, 540-yard sixth. He closed his first nine holes with a birdie on the ninth, a par-4 415-yard hole. Unfortunately, Gonzalez's back nine did not compare to the front nine.
He had two bogeys and a double bogey, but he did birdie the par-4, 390-yard 14th. Then, he parred the final collegiate hole of his career on the par-4, 425-yard 18th. His career ends with two tournament wins and two conference weekly honors, and he holds the program record for fewest strokes in around by posting a 66 twice in his career.
The future of the A&T men's golf program, Samuel Drew Walker, closed his final round of the season with a 3-over 75. Walker finished in a tie for 10th place by shooting a 6-over 221. It was an interesting journey for Walker on Wednesday. He started the day on an uptick by birdieing the par-4, 395-yard first before a bogey and two double bogeys moved him to 4-over after the first five holes.
Walker did score again when he birdied the par-3, 165-yard eighth. He stayed at 3-over until he double-bogeyed the par-5 11th. Walker parred the next five holes before finishing the season birdie, birdie as he posted a four on the par-5 530-yard 17th and the par-4 18th.
Martin Gutierrez made an impressive move up the leaderboard as he went from 18th to a tie for 13th by shooting a third-round 3-over 75. After a bogey on No. 1, Gutierrez birdied the next three holes to move to 2-under. But he added two bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine to finish at 2-over.
He bogeyed the No. 10 to start the back nine before a birdie on the par-5 11th. Then, after a bogey on the 13th, he birdied the par-4, 390-yard 14th. Another bogey would end Gutierrez's three-round tournament at 9-over 224. Conrado Chozas also competed, finishing the tournament with a 232.
