Bethune-Cookman’s Men and Women Take Control at 31st PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Round 1 of the 31st PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by CastleOak Securities teed off Friday at PGA Golf Club, marking the 20th consecutive year the Championship has been contested at the Port St. Lucie property. The 54-hole event comprising of six divisions finishes on Sunday.

Pursuing a sixth consecutive and 14th overall Championship in program history, the Bethune-Cookman women lead the Women’s Division by six strokes over the University of the Incarnate Word (301). Playing on the Ryder Course, junior Mackenzie Butzer led the way for the Wildcats (295) with a bogey-free, 3-under-par 69. In fact, Butzer was the lone golfer in any division to break 70.

“My whole goal was to keep it in the fairway and play middle of the green on every hole,” Butzer said. “I simplified it down and it really worked in my favor. I did miss a few short birdie putts. Hopefully, I can lock-in on those tomorrow.”

RELATED: PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship coverage

Bethune-Cookman’s men seek to win their fourth Championship in five years as they set the tone Friday with a Men’s Division I-leading score of even-par 288 on the Wanamaker Course. Sam Sloman fired a 71 to lead the Wildcats to a comfortable 14-stroke lead. Incarnate Word’s men’s team (302) also sit in second place heading into the weekend.

Tony O’Neal, Head Coach of the men’s and women’s teams at Bethune-Cookman, recognizes that, while his Wildcats currently stand at the top of the leaderboard, there is always room to improve.

“These kids have to challenge themselves each and every time they go out to play even better than before,” he said. “Today, we only had two players under par. So, tomorrow’s goal is to get more players under par. You’re playing against the field, but you’re also challenging yourself each day to be better.”

In the Men’s Division II grouping, the Lincoln University Blue Tigers (307) took a six-stroke, round-one lead, pacing the second-place University of West Alabama Tigers (313). West Alabama’s Brannon O’Pry fired the Division II low round of the day with an even-par 72 on the Wanamaker. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (316), who have won back-to-back Division II titles at the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, trail by nine.

After shooting a 315 on the Wanamaker, the University of Houston-Victoria leads the NAIA Division. Leading the way for the Jaguars was Juan David Coy (75).

A pair of 76s on the Ryder by University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Tiana Jones and University of West Alabama’s Kaitlyn Rose place them eight strokes ahead in the Women’s Individual.

Corban University’s Devery Stewart paces the Men’s Individual division by one stroke after carding a 2-under-par 70 on the Ryder. Nabeel Khan of the University of Connecticut sits in second place, while John Hulede (Towson University), Dante Davis (Bethune-Cookman University) and last year’s Men’s Individual champion Siyan Liu (Palm Beach Atlantic University) trail Stewart by four strokes.

The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by CastleOak Securities has elevated golf in minority colleges and universities by providing opportunities for players to compete in a national championship. In 2006, the PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management by the National Minority Collegiate Golf Scholarship Fund.

“It’s always been a first-class event,” said O’Neal. “It’s an event that we look forward to each and every year.”

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PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by CastleOak Securities
Friday, May 12, 2017
PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Florida

***FIRST-ROUND SCORES***

Women’s Team
PGA Golf Club/Ryder Course
1. Bethune-Cookman University - 295
Mackenzie Butzer - 69
Yudika Rodriguez - 75
Shamiso Hatchard - 75
Alejandra Sanchez - 76
Saraid Ruiz - 77

2. Incarnate Word - 301
Madison Frerking - 73
Gracie Aday - 74
Shannon Douglas - 77
Dabin Cleary - 77
Samantha Aviles - 77

3. North Carolina A&T University - 308
Jocelyn Andrews - 73
Sofia Alvarez - 76
Deja Smith - 77
Erica Jackson - 82
Jill Harvison - 86

4. Chicago State University - 313
Rainstar Roque - 76
Tali Letoi - 78
Fernanda Solis - 79
Felicia Davenport - 80
Isabela Miravite - 85

5. Hampton University - 333
Zora Moore - 82
Lauren Price - 83
Treliah Samuels - 84
Jakari Harris - 84
Britney Smith - 85

6. Savannah State University - 348
Rachele Orme - 80
Brooke Griffin - 86
Monique Veal - 91
Kayla Jones - 91
Cheyenne Willard - 95

7. Delaware State University - 358
Samyra Lewis - 76
Ireanna Pette - 82
Samantha Van Dort - 94
Allison Ambrose - 106

8. University of Houston-Victoria - 366
Shelbi Vincent - 83
Viviana Yzquierdo - 83
Reid Whaley - 97
Jo Ellen Canales - 103

9. Lincoln University - 388
Hanna Berendzen - 88
Dominique Lee - 91
Rylee Glenn - 100
Madison Oliver - 109
Chelsea Vinson - 124

Men’s Division I
PGA Golf Club/Wanamaker Course
1. Bethune-Cookman University - 288
Sam Sloman - 71
Christian Hovstadius - 72
Marcus Sundlof - 72
Daniel Brennan - 73
Joel Ramirez - 78

2. Incarnate Word - 302
Caden Wylie - 73
Jeffrey Conflitti - 76
Kevin Smith - 76
Remy Huston - 77
Cole Solis - 81

3. Savannah State University - 304
Zach Otto - 72
Adam Walden - 73
Cole Madison - 76
Jaden Thiemann - 83
Ethan Otterbein - 87

4. Florida A&M University - 306
Prince Cunningham - 75
Mahindra Lutchman - 76
Chase Killette - 77
Cameron Riley - 78
Dennis Minefee - 78

5. Tennessee State University - 307
Jermey Fultz - 76
Todd McGill - 76
Drew Owens - 77
Kody Rendleman - 78
Rosario Falzone - 83

6. NC Central University - 313
Jordan Bohannon - 77
Samuel Bradley - 77
Nathan Corley - 79
Sumner Tate - 80
Zane Lewis - 81

7. Hampton University - 318
Jordan Samuels - 77
Taylor Osborne - 79
Alexander Rivera - 81
Justin Bates - 81
Toiriste O'Neal - 84

8. Maryland Eastern Shore - 323
Young Lee - 72
Blair Waters - 79
Jabril Arnold - 83
Christian Owens - 89

9. Chicago State University - 326
Austin Dobrescu - 77
Cameron Boomer - 82
Andre Reid - 83
Miles Bailey - 84

Men’s Division II
PGA Golf Club/Wanamaker Course
1. Lincoln University - 307
Gabe Trowbridge - 74
Drew Geritz - 74
Blake Lammers - 77
Deaven Vincent - 82
Logan Taylor - 84

2. University of West Alabama - 313
Brannon O'Pry - 72
Mark Johnson - 77
Harris Stevens - 81
Andrew Cronwright - 83
Alec Riley - 83

3. Virginia Union University - 314
Allan Day - 74
Joshua Mohun - 78
Paul Meints - 81
Bartosh Kaminski - 81
Robel Woldagabriel - 85

4. Cal State-Dominguez Hills - 316
Andrew Banuelos - 75
Phillip Chan - 79
Raynard Belmonte - 80
William Yang - 82
Miles Young - 95

5. Livingstone College - 322
Philip Harrison - 73
Stephen Washington - 81
Harry Standberry - 82
Telvin Walker - 86
Lenorris Williams - 94

6. Fayetteville State University - 334
Adam Capps - 79
Nick Pennix - 84
Isaiah Shaw - 85
Christian Villanueva - 86
Austin Parlett - 96

7. Miles College - 337
Vitthal Parker - 78
Kyle Kerns - 81
Josh Lewis - 87
Jacob McCurry - 90
Cameron Wilhite - 92

8. Virginia State University - 344
Samuel Reid - 73
Darian Exum - 84
Isaiah Belton - 88
Nicolas Williams - 99

NAIA
PGA Golf Club/Wanamaker Course
1. University of Houston-Victoria - 315
Juan David Coy - 75
Terry Strickland - 79
Christian Esparza - 80
Adrian Saenz - 81
James Rollins - 81

Women’s Individual
PGA Golf Club/Ryder Course
T1. Tiana Jones, Maryland Eastern Shore - 76
T1. Kaitlyn Rose, University of West Alabama - 76
3. Gaby Rivera-Garcia, Chowan University - 84
4. Tasneem Ward, Savannah State University - 86
5. Josephina Oh, Maryland Eastern Shore - 91
6. Kendall Dunovant, Whitman College - 92
7. Lizabeth Randles, Hampton University - 103

Men’s Individual
PGA Golf Club/Ryder Course
1. Devery Stewart, Corban University - 70
2. Nabeel Khan, University of Connecticut - 71
T3. John Hulede, Towson University - 74
T3. Dante Davis, Bethune-Cookman University - 74
T3. Siyan Liu, Palm Beach Atlantic University - 74
6. Abhinav Walia, Bethune-Cookman University - 77
T7. Marcus Thompson, Livingstone College - 78
T7. Junghoon Lee, UNLV - 78
T7. Isaac Calderon, Corban University - 78
T7. Simon Maury, Bethune-Cookman University - 78
T11. Joseph Stills, University of West Florida - 80
T11. Rajai Cousley, Benedict College - 80
T11. Royce Rosenthal, Warner Pacific College - 80
T14. Terry Flowers, Meridian Community College - 81
T14. Brandon Rincon, Albion College - 81
T14. Marqus Edwards, Benedict College - 81
17. Sergio Escalante, Virginia Union University - 84
18. Elijah Collins, Lake Forest College - 86
T19. Djimon Dixon, Paine College - 90
T19. Jordan Hall, Methodist University - 90
T21. Jt Moore, St. Augustine's University - 92
T21. Eddie Crawford, Methodist University - 92
23. Kendall White, St. Augustine's University - 94
24. Marquis Usher, Maryland Eastern Shore - 95
25. Khaliq Dansby, Miles College - 96