Hershey, PA — As a team, Messiah may be out of the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championships, but that doesn't mean the Falcons won't have a presence on the final two days of the four-round event.
Freshman Matt Burkhart fired a one-under par 71 to jump an incredible 58 paces on the individual leader board Wednesday at Hershey Links Golf Course, securing a Thursday tee time as an individual.
Sadly, his teammates were not as fortunate.
Messiah fired a collective 307 on the day, bringing its two-day total to 636. That number was 10 strokes off the cut-line, as the Falcons finished tied for 28th in the 37-team field, failing to place in the top 23 teams — a group that will continue team play both Thursday and Friday at Hershey Links.
“I thought we'd need a 305 going into today, and that was a gut feeling,” said Messiah head coach Troy Boone. “It turns out we needed something a bit lower than that (to make the cut), but I'm proud of our guys. They fought hard and they really improved.”
In the end, it was Tuesday's tournament-opening 329 that did the team in, as the Falcons battled incessant rains and frigid temperatures on Hershey Country Club's East Course to post its highest team score of the season.
Wednesday, however, the squad got back into its groove, utilizing Burkhart's 71 and a 76 from senior Corey Wenger to post a respectable tally. Senior Ben Horst rebounded to shoot 79 after scoring a 44 on the front nine, while junior Dan Wort posted an 81.
“As a team, the guys focused on what needed to be done today, knowing that we were in a pretty big hole,” Boone said. “If we could have kept our (Tuesday) score manageable, we'd be talking about a different story right now.”
The skies cleared Wednesday and temperatures warmed, and Boone's club took advantage of a friendlier Hershey Links layout. Burkhart shot an even 36 on the front while Wenger fired a 39, giving Boone hope for a possible team berth into the final two days of competition.
It was on the back nine that Messiah really flourished, as Burkhart complemented seven pars with birdies on the par-three 11th and par-five 16th. Horst did the same — birdying the 10th and 18th holes — while Wenger ended his back nine in style: After hitting the 501-yard, par-five 18th green in two, he rolled in a 30-foot snake for eagle.
It gave him a 37 on the back. It was also his last putt as a collegiate golfer.
“Our seniors really went out strong,” Boone said. “Corey's putt on 18 was incredible, and Ben just battled all day long. I don't know if I've ever seen him more determined. He hit his tee shot into some fescue on 17, and he called me over. He asked if we'd need his score, and I told him we did. He then muscled a six-iron onto the green and made par. He was just fighting for everything.”
And though Burkhart didn't know it at the time, he was fighting for an individual title as well. After posting a 79 in Tuesday's quagmire and sitting tied for 78th place overall, Burkart's sub-par round tied him for 20th following Wednesday's action — an incredible 58-place jump.
The result was a chance to continue as an individual in this week's championships, as the top five individuals not competing on qualifying teams are included in Thursday and Friday's final rounds.
Under those provisions, Burkhart (+7) is the third-lowest individual remaining, trailing only Claremont Mudd Scripps Colleges' Tain Lee (-5) and Susquehanna University's Mitch Mercer (+2).
“It's a wonderful privilege for Matt to being playing at this stage as a freshman, and at the level he's playing,” Boone said. “He deserves this. It's not a fluke. He's the real deal, and he's deserving to continue playing in this tournament. He's extremely talented and he's very mentally tough. Before the round today, he told me he was going to go even or lower, and he did. Incredible.”
Methodist University led the team scoring after two rounds of play, posting a 597. Huntingdon College currently sits at 599. Both squads fired incredible scores of 290 Wednesday.
“We played with Huntingdon and St. John's (University) these last two days, and we saw some magic,” Boone said. “But this is what we were looking forward to. We wanted to play in this field against these types of teams. The chance to experience the NCAA Championships is a huge step for our program. We want to continue building from here.”
It appears Messiah doesn't have far to go. The team's 307 on Wednesday was better than what six qualifying teams shot on the day, while only three teams missing the cut shot better.
“We achieved a lot of our goals this year as a team,” Boone said. “We wanted to shoot under 300 at least once, and we did it. We wanted to win tournaments, and we did it five times this spring. We wanted to win our conference championship and we wanted to make the cut in the NCAA Tournament. We only came up short in one area. But this is where I want to drive this program. We're getting there, and I have confidence that we will get there.”
Burkhart will now continue competing for an individual national championship, as the Lancaster, Pa. native will tee off at 7:50 a.m. Thursday on Hershey Links' 1oth hole. Burkart's Friday tee time will depend on Thursday's results.
Fans can follow Burkhart's scorecard via Live Stats. Additional details and tournament information can be found at the
official site of the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championships.
