ST. HELENA ISLAND, SC – North Carolina A&T sophomore men's golfer Javier Morgado finished in a second-place tie on Monday at the 2025 Fripp Island Intercollegiate hosted by USC Upstate at the par-71, 6,609-yard Fripp Island Resort golf course. Morgado entered the final day of the three-day, three-round tournament with the lead at 3-under, one stroke ahead of Presbyterian's Jeep Patrick and Central Michigan's Keith Hunter.
But Patrick made a surge in the third round, shooting a 4-under 67 to win the tournament. Patrick finished five strokes ahead of Morgado, who shot a final round 2-over 73. Charleston Southern's Bailey Bjornson also made a surge during the final round, shooting a 2-under 69 to finish in a second-place tie with Morgado (70-69-73—212).
A&T as a team made a jump on the leaderboard. The Aggies stood in seventh place after the first two days of the tournament but shot a 4-over 292 on Monday to finish in fifth place after a three-round 29-over (291-298-292—881). Gardner-Webb won the tournament by two strokes over Charleston. The Runnin' Bulldogs finished the tournament at 9-over 861, while the Buccaneers shot an 11-over 863. The Lafayette Leopards rounded out the top three by finishing the tournament at 21-over 873.
Morgado's card mainly stayed clean on the front nine on Monday. His front nine started with a birdie on the 505-yard, par-5 first before posting seven straight pars. He ended the front nine with a bogey on No. 9 before making the turn to the back nine and carding three consecutive pars. Morgado did have a setback on No. 13 with a double bogey, but he recovered nicely.
On the 400-yard par-4 14th, Morgado carded a three to move to 1-over on the day before posting another birdie on the par-3 166-yard 15th to move to even par. After a par on 16, he ended the back nine with a bogey on 17 and a birdie on the 520-yard par-5 18th.
Sophomore Pedro Pereira had the lowest score of round three for the Aggies, shooting an even par 71. Sophomore Ignacio Zapata did shoot a magnificent 5-under 66, but he played as an individual during the Fripp Island Intercollegiate, so his score did not count toward A&T's totals. Pereira and Zapata finished in a five-way tie for 13th.
Pereira finished at 5-over (74-73-71—218) and Zapata closed the tournament at 5-over (76-76-66—218). Pereira's day included an eagle on No. 9. Like Morgado, Pereira also birdied No. 1. He also had three bogeys and four pars on the front nine to finish the first nine holes at even par. He had seven pars, one bogey and a birdie on the back nine. His lone birdie on the back nine came on the 391-yard par-4 11th.
Zapata had a bogey-free day. He shot 3-under on the front nine with birdies on No. 1, the 382-yard par-4 No. 2, and No. 9. On the back nine, he birdied the 14th and 18th holes. Sophomore Mauricio Alvarado, who also played as an individual separate from the A&T scores, finished in a three-way tie for 18th at 6-over (74-74-71—219). Alvardo recorded four birdies on Monday.
Freshman Emilio Hernandez, who played well in the first round on Saturday, finished in a tie for 23rd at 8-over (69-77-75—221). Junior Camilo Marin had a good final round. He ended the tournament at 17-over (78-79-73—230). He posted four birdies on Monday and shot a 1-under 34 on the front nine. Drew Walker was also participating for A&T during the week, shooting 33-over (79-85-82—246), while graduate Tyler Partee played as an individual and shot 28-over (79-78-84—241).
The Fripp Island Intercollegiate marked the Aggies' final tournament of the fall. The Aggies return to action in Hollywood, SC, after the New Year to participate in the College of Charleston's The Stono tournament, February 2-3, at The Links at Stono Ferry golf course.
