The No. 2 nationally ranked Emory men’s golf team earned first place at the NCAA Division III Fall Preview on Sept. 14 and 15. The 54-hole tournament took place at the par-72 PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., which doubles as Emory’s home course.
Heading into the final eight holes on Sunday, the Eagles were losing by six shots but rode a massive comeback to secure first place. Emory finished with a score at 874 (302-287-285) to finish seven shots ahead of No. 1-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University (296-291-294, 881). Huntingdon College (Ala.) placed third with a score of 891 (296-306-289). University of St. Thomas (Minn.) and Washington and Lee University (Va.) rounded out the rest of the top five.
Head Coach John Sjoberg said the Eagles were actually not sure how far behind the team was and just kept playing.
“It went pretty quick there,” Sjoberg said. “We made five birdies between 12 and 16, and Illinois Wesleyan made three doubles and a bogey. All of a sudden, we went from five down to five up.”
Junior Eric Yiu led the Eagles and spurred the comeback on the last day with a five-under-par 67. Yiu finished the tourney as the top scorer for the team and third overall with a score of par-216 (76-73-67).
Senior Matt Organisak shot two-over-par 218 (77-69-72), earning sixth place overall. Sophomore Max Schwarz played on the Eagles’ A team for the first time and impressed with a score of 218 (73-72-73) to put him in sixth place alongside Organisak.
Sophomore Logan Ryan came in 17th place overall with a score of 225 (79-73-73), while senior Sam Galloway finished in 27th place with a score of 228 (76-77-75).
Sjoberg praised Yiu’s performance in the win.
“He [came] out on Sunday to start with a bogey and then [ripped] off six birdies and was pretty flawless [after that],” Sjoberg said. “That’s one of the better rounds I’ve seen in my 17 years.”
Preparation for the next tournament has already begun, Sjoberg said.
“We’ll do some qualifying this weekend, a couple rounds,” he said. “We’ll have our lineup on Sunday and a good seven practices. Plenty of stuff to work on so [we have to] get sharper.”
The Eagles return to action on Sept. 30 at the 54-hole Gordin Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
