Darton golfers run away with region championship

ALBANY — After all the golfers had left the Stonebridge Golf & Country Club course Wednesday afternoon, Darton State College men’s golf coach Gary Hilton could finally reflect on his team’s accomplishments at the NJCAA Region 17 golf championships.

After leading by 29 strokes entering the final round, Darton increased it by four, finishing with a three-day total of 864 (292-287-285) and advanced to the NJCAA Division II National Championships that will begin on May 19 at the Goosepond Resort in Scottsboro, Ala.

Wednesday was the Cavaliers’ 14th straight region title. The Cavaliers finished the tournament 3-under par after their 285 in the final round, which included waiting out an hour rain delay.

“We wanted 4-under, we got 3-under, so we ended up even for the tournament,” Hilton said. “I’m never going to complain about three rounds of even par golf.”

ABAC (309-302-293) finished third at 904, Andrew (308-308-295) took fourth and Georgia Military College (331-326-318) was fifth.

Conner Watt finished with a 73 on Wednesday but still finished as the region champion. His 211 (67-71-73) was five strokes ahead of Georgia Northwestern’s Chase Cole, who shot the lowest round on Wednesday with a 68.

Darton’s Hunter Tidwell finished with a 70 in the final round to finish third at 218 (73-75-70), while teammate Jake O’Bryan led the Cavaliers in the final round with a 69 to finish in a three-way tie for fourth-place at 220, four over par.

Georgia Northwestern’s Jordan Estes and ABAA’s Jeb Stewart also finished at 220.

Darton’s Seth Sanders, who was second overall entering Wednesday at 145 (75-70), finished with a 78 and slipped to eighth overall, while teammate Josh Glossop finished eight over par (77-74-73) in ninth-place.

“These guys played unbelievable golf this past week,” Hilton said. “Through all the start and stopping, they stayed poised and played hard this week. It made feel better about the championships.”

Hilton said the next few weeks may be his biggest challenge — keeping the team poised to play in the national tournament that is more than a month away.

“I wish the championships were this upcoming week,” he said. “But everybody has got to do it. We just got to keep our competitive edge. We’ll be prepared.”