WESTON, Fla. – The North Carolina A&T men's golf team had its best showing of the season over the weekend at the Acris HBCU Golf Championship at The Club at Weston Hills par-72, 7,256-yard golf course.
It was highlighted by sophomore Drew Walker nearly winning the tournament as an individual. Walker lost in a two-hole playoff to Florida A&M's Marcus Taylor. Both players shot a 4-under 70 in regulation before the playoff showdown.
As a team, the Aggies finished third with a 20-over 884. They finished eight strokes off the lead to tournament champion Florida A&M, who finished at 12-over 876. North Carolina Central University (NCCU) finished two strokes off the lead in second place with a 14-over 878.
Walker opened the first round by shooting a 72. His card included three birdies, one bogey and one double bogey. Later in the day, he started the second round with a birdie before moving to 2-under for the round with another birdie on the par-4 fifth. Walker carded another birdie on the par-5 seventh before running into trouble on the eighth and ninth.
He bogeyed both holes before making the turn and placing three straight pars on his card. Walker moved to 2-under in the second round with a birdie on the par-3, 13th. He went bogey and birdie on 14 and 15 before ending the day and the round with three straight pars.
Walker entered the final day at 2-under and tied with Taylor for the tournament lead. Walker fired off three birdies on the front nine. His front nine also included a bogey, while Taylor posted three birdies and two bogeys on his front nine. Taylor made the turn and also made a bogey on 10 before birdieing 13 and 14 to move to 2-under for the round and 4-under for the tournament. Taylor shot par on the last four holes.
Meanwhile, Walker made the turn at 4-under for the tournament but bogeyed 13 to move into a tie for first place. After Taylor birdied 14, Walker needed a birdie to tie. He got on the par-5, 16th to tie Taylor before parring the last two holes to force the playoff.
Teammates Torii Ryuki and Camilo Marin also finished in the top 10. Ryuki finished ninth with a three-round 220. He shot a 74 in the first round before recovering to shoot a 73 in the second and a 73 in the third. He posted three birdies in the third round for his best tournament showing. Marin had his best round in the first. He posted three birdies and two bogeys to shoot a 1-under 71. He shot 75 in each of the next two rounds to place 10th with a 221.
Owen Walsh and JR Smith also competed for A&T. Walsh shot a three-round 231 to tie for 21st, and Smith shot 253 to finish 29th.
