Darton golfers win Stonebridge Invitational

ALBANY — The Darton State College golf team shot a 291 in the final round on Tuesday to take the Stonebridge Invitational at the Stonebridge Golf & Country Club.

The Cavaliers, who trailed Wallace State by one stroke after two rounds on Monday, finished five strokes ahead to capture their second straight tournament.

In addition, Darton’s Finlay Mason shot a 69 to win individual honors. Mason (68-71-69) won by two strokes ahead of Andrew’s Markus Svahn.

It was Mason’s second consecutive tournament title. Two weeks ago, he won the Doublegate Invitational.

“He’s playing some great golf right,” Darton coach Gary Hilton said. “He’s playing as good as anybody in the country.”

While Mason took top honors, teammate Hunter Tidwell shot a final-round 71 to finish fifth. Tidwell had struggled on Monday, shooting a 76 and 73 and was in a four-way tie for eighth as the final round began.

“Hunter stepped up big for us,” Hilton said. “But that’s what leaders are supposed to do.”

Other Darton golfers included Josh Robertson (76-77-77) and Harrison Mohr (73-82-75), who finished tied for 17th. Bailey Ulp (75-81-76) finished 25th, while Rob Simpson finished 40th (85-86-83).

Tuesday’s final round was played under calmer winds.

“Scores went way down and everyone’s scores improved,” Hilton said. “But we had some guys who were not happy with how they finished. They have been working hard and they’re starting to see some of their hard work paying off.”

Wallace State shot a 297 in the final round and finished at 890, while Central Alabama finished third, 16 strokes behind Darton.

The Cavaliers are off until April 4-5 when they will play in the Georgia Southwestern Invitational at the Doublegate Country Club. Hilton likes his team’s progress.

“We’re peaking at the right time and playing some good golf, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” he said. “We’ve got three more tournaments before nationals (in May), but you can’t be unhappy with how the guys are playing … to win two straight tournaments and the guys peaking at the right time, that’s what it is all about. They are starting to believe in themselves and I’ve always said a team that believes in themselves is a dangerous team.”