Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Dalton State College Athletics

Scoreboard

University logo

Monday Rewind: The 2018 NAIA Men's Golf National Championship

By: Erik Simpson, Sports Information Director
General-Monday Rewind

General | 5/18/2020 10:48:00 AM


DALTON, Ga. –With the calendar firmly in May the focus for the #5-ranked Dalton State Men's Golf team traditionally turns to the NAIA National Championship. With a ranking in the top 5, the Roadrunners were looking at another trip to the NAIA Tournament win, lose, or draw.
 
Dsroadrunners.com will conclude the look back at previous tournaments for men's and women's golf and women's track & field based on events that were scheduled for the 2020 Spring season. Today, Monday Rewind looks back at the 2018 NAIA Men's Golf National Championship.
 
ABOUT THE COURSE
TPC Deere Run is operated by the PGA Tour as a member of the Tournament Players Club network of courses. It plays host to the John Deere Classic each July, traditionally before The Open Championship. D.A. Weibring designed track as a stadium course with bentgrass greens and fairways.
 
THE LINEUP
S.M. Lee – Sophomore – Buford, Ga.
P.J. Shields – Senior – Lafayette, Ga.
Chase Cole – Senior – Trenton, Ga.
Dalton Johnson – Senior – Forsyth, Ga.
Ben Rebne – Sophomore – Ringgold, Ga.
 
Day 1
Perfect weather treated the nation's best to a wonderful opening day on the course as #2 Dalton State posted a team round of (E, 284) to sit in fourth place, trailing #5 Keiser (Fla.), (-5, 279), by five strokes after the first round of the NAIA National Championship at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.

#8 Coastal Georgia and #11 Taylor (Ind.) shared second place after rounds of (-4, 280). #4 Wayland Baptist (Texas), (+4, 288), rounded out the top 5.

Senior Chase Cole would get the Roadrunners started, going 1-under on the front 9 with birdies at Nos. 2 & 6. The turn would not be friendly for Cole as he hit a rough patch on Nos. 11-14 going 5-over. He would recover and close strong with birdies at Nos. 15 & 17 to finish the round with a (+2, 73).

Dalton Johnson was next on the course and started with eight straight scores of par. He would encounter trouble at No. 9, recording a double-bogey to make the turn at (+2). Johnson would light up the back 9, registering four birdies and one bogey to post 1-under, 70.

Sophomore Ben Rebne started off his round much like Johnson, recording par on his first four holes. He would drop a shot at No. 5 and finish out the front 9 with four more pars to make the turn at 1-over. He would hit a stretch on the back 9 where he made bogey on three of four holes, but he too would finish strong with a birdie at No. 17 to card a (+3, 74).

Nicklaus Award semifinalist P.J. Shields would start out hot with birdies at Nos. 1 & 3. He would start to settle in, but bogeys at Nos. 6 & 9 would push him back to (E) as he hit the back 9. He would pick up a stroke at No. 12 with a birdie, but closing bogeys at Nos. 14 & 18 would see him finish at (+1, 72).

All-American S.M. Lee was the last Roadrunner on the course and got off to a quick start with an eagle at No. 2. He would drop a stroke on No. 4, but got it back with a birdie at No. 5. Another birdie at No. 8 would see him start his final nine of the day at 3-under. Lee would get to 4-under after a birdie at No. 13, but, like Shields, he would bogey Nos. 14 & 18 coming in to post (-2, 69).

#2-ranked Dalton State hit the tee in the morning during the first round and would go off during the afternoon wave in the second round. The Roadrunners were paired with Wayland Baptist (Texas) and Victoria (B.C.) for both rounds.
 
Day 2
#2 Dalton State took advantage of the near perfect conditions on Day 2, firing a (-2, 282) team score and trimming the gap to the leader to one-stroke after the second round of the NAIA National Championship at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. #8 Coastal Georgia, (-3, 565), held on to the narrow lead just ahead of the Roadrunners, (-2, 566).

Round 1 co-leader #5 Keiser (Fla.), (+9, 293), and #1 Oklahoma City, (-2, 282), shared third at (+4, 572). #6 Texas Wesleyan, (+8, 576) rounded out the top 5.

Chase Cole started the day off for the Roadrunners on No. 10. It would be a rough beginning for Cole with a triple-bogey on No. 11 followed by a bogey on No. 12 to quickly go to (+4) on the round. He settled down and birdied Nos. 16 & 17 before making the turn to the front. Cole birdied Nos. 1 & 6 to miraculously get back to (E) on the round, but he ran out of steam, closing with bogeys on Nos. 8 & 9 to finish his roller coaster day with a (+2, 73).

Senior Dalton Johnson would struggle in Round 2 after a tremendous round on day one. Johnson would bogey three of his first four holes before getting a stroke back at No. 14 to make the turn at (+2). The front 9 victimized Johnson as four bogeys saw him shoot (+6, 77) on the day.

Ben Rebne struggled at the beginning of his round as well with bogeys at Nos. 11 & 13 to hit the front 9 at 2-over. Rebne caught fire with birdies at Nos. 3, 7, & 8 to hit red figures for the round at 1-under.

All-American P.J. Shields had another solid day, posting (E, 71). Shields carded two bogeys and one birdie on the back 9 to open, but a birdie at No. 2 got him back to (E). Shields looked destined for an over-par round after bogeys at Nos. 5 & 7, but back-to-back birdies to close at Nos. 8 & 9 were huge for the team score.

Fellow All-American S.M. Lee put together another impressive round, firing a (-3, 68) to take the overall lead at 5-under. Lee opened with a birdie at No. 10 then picked up another stroke at No. 14. A bogey at No. 15 would be followed by nine consecutive pars before back-to-back birdies at Nos. 7 & 8 pushed Lee to 3-under to close the round.

Holding second after two rounds meant the Roadrunners would tee off in the final group with #8 Coastal Georgia and #1 Oklahoma City.
 
Day 3
On another great day for scoring, #2-ranked Dalton State carded a team round of (+6, 290) on Thursday to hold on to second place after the third round of the NAIA National Championships. The Roadrunners, (+4, 856), trailed #1 Oklahoma City, (-4, 848), heading to the final round after the Stars posted a round of (-8, 276) and swapped spots with Coastal Georgia.

The aforementioned Mariners slipped down into a tie with Dalton State for second after shooting a team round of (+7, 291). Keiser (Fla.), (+7, 859), was fourth, followed by Texas Wesleyan, (+8, 860), rounding out the top 5.

The best Roadrunner round of the day went to All-American S.M. Lee. Lee tied with Rupert Kaminski of Oklahoma City for the best round overall, posting a (-5, 66). He got off to a hot start with birdies on Nos. 1 & 2. A minor setback at No. 4 saw him drop back to 1-under, but another birdie at No. 6 had him make the turn a 2-under.

Lee quickly pushed his score to 5-under after birdies at Nos. 10, 11, & 12. He would bogey No. 15, but close strong with a birdie at No. 17 to finish off his round and take a five-stroke individual lead into the final round.

Senior Chase Cole had the second best round for the Birds, firing an (E, 71). Cole would too birdie Nos. 1 & 2, while also posting a bogey at No. 4. He would double-bogey No. 9 to make the turn at 1-over. Things would get interesting on the back 9, starting with a birdie at No. 10.

He followed that up with another double-bogey at No. 11 before ripping off three consecutive birdies at Nos. 14, 15, & 16 to hit red figures at 1-under. A bogey at No. 17 to close pushed him back to (E).

Dalton Johnson got off to a slow start, posting bogey on Nos. 3 & 7. He got a stroke back at No. 8 with a birdie, but give it right back with a bogey on No. 9. A birdie at No. 11 got him close to even-par, but bogeys at Nos. 13, 17, & 18 coming in would see Johnson finish his round at 4-over.

All-American P.J. Shields and sophomore Ben Rebne both struggled around Deere Run on day three. Shields posted (+7, 78) for his round that featured one birdie, four bogeys, and two double-bogeys, while Rebne recorded one birdie, four bogeys, one double-bogey, and one triple bogey for a round of (+8, 79).

The Roadrunners stayed in the final group for Round 4 and were once again paired with Oklahoma City and Coastal Georgia.
 
Day 4
On the final day of the season, #2-ranked Dalton State posted a team round of (E, 284) to finish in solo second place at the NAIA National Championships at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. The Roadrunners, (+4, 1140), finished behind #1 Oklahoma City, (-9, 1127), but stayed ahead of the rest of the pack for the runner-up spot.

Texas Wesleyan, (+5, 1141), jumped up two spots after a 3-under-par team round to claim third. Coastal Georgia, (+6, 1142), slid down two spots to take fourth, while Keiser, (+8, 1144), rounded out the top 5.

All-American S.M. Lee added to his stunning list of achievements, becoming the second Dalton State golfer to win individual medalist honors at the National Championship, joining Sean Elliott in 2015. Lee turned to the back 9 at even-par after carding two birdies and two bogeys on the front. Birdies at Nos. 14 & 15 pushed him to 2-under.
 
He would finish out with a (-2, 69) to take the victory by eight strokes and finish as the only player to score in the 60's all four days of the tournament. His tournament score of 272 also tied Elliott as the lowest 72-hole score in the history of the NAIA National Championship.

Sophomore Ben Rebne came up big again, making a statement on the back 9 with three birdies and closing with a 1-under, 70. Rebne found some trouble on the front and made the turn at 1-over. Another bogey at No. 11 put him at 2-over, but three birdies down the stretch reversed his fortune and saw him finish in red figures.

Dalton Johnson bounced back from a bad day on day three to post (+1, 72). Johnson made the turn to the back 9 at (E), but picked up a quick birdie at No. 10. He gave it right back with a bogey at No. 11. Another bogey at No. 17 dashed his hopes of finishing under par.

All-American P.J. Shields finished out with a (+2, 73). He turned four front 9 bogeys into three back 9 birdies to finish out his National Tournament strong. Senior Chase Cole got into some early trouble with a triple-bogey at No. 2, but had a fantastic recovery to play the rest of his day at even-par and finish with a (+3, 74).

THE SCORES
Finish Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round
4		 Total Strokes Relative to Par
1. S.M. Lee 69 68 66 69 272 -12
33. Chase Cole 73 73 71 74 291 +7
45. Ben Rebne 74 70 79 70 293 +9
48. Dalton Johnson 70 77 75 72 294 +10
48. P.J. Shields 72 71 78 73 294 +10
             

 
Print Friendly Version