STROKE PLAY RESULTS
MEDAL/MATCH PLAY LINEUPS
MEDAL/MATCH PLAY LIVE SCORING

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – With the wind howling at 30 miles per hour in central Florida on Wednesday, UWF junior Chandler Blanchet knew par would be a good score on a day when birdies were scarce. Little did he know that when he pared the final seven holes on Wednesday that would be the key to him winning the 2017 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Individual National Championship.
 
Blanchet struggled to start the round, slipping to 3-over after three holes and dropped another shot on 10. At that point he was four shots behind tourney leader John Coultas of Florida Southern with eight to play. On 11, Blanchet hit his approach from 105 yards to three feet and made birdie to get within three. As the duo matched each other par-for-par over the next four holes, Blanchet's window appeared to be slipping away.
 
"I knew I was three down with three to play and thought I was going to have to make some birdies because he was playing solidly," Blanchet said.
 
That's when fate intervened and gave the Gainesville, Fla. product the opening he needed. All three players in contention down the stretch – Blanchet, Coultas and Barry's Niclas Weiland – pulled their tee shots on the par-5, 17th hole. But only Blanchet's ball stayed in bounds – and by mere inches at that – allowing him to make par while the other two ended with double bogeys.
 
He then strode to the 18th tee knowing he had a one-shot lead as he split the fairway with his drive and stuck a 5-iron to eight feet, where he two putted for his seventh tournament title of the year. It was also the second individual national title in for a UWF player in men's golf, dating back to 1998 when Orjan Larsen first accomplished the feat.
 
"It must have been fate," said Blanchet, who never led in the tournament until after the 53rd hole. "I've said that if you win and there's something that happens that you can't explain, you don't question it. Just be happy that it happened. My ball stayed in bounds and I was able to gain two shots on 17 that gave me the opening to win it."
 
Blanchet finished his round with 14 pars for a 70-66-73=209 total score. In the post-event awards ceremony, he received the NCAA individual national championship trophy, the Division II Arnold Palmer National Individual Champion Award and was named a First Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
 
"He's had an incredible year and is one of the best I've seen in college golf," UWF head coach Steve Fell said. "It's just phenomenal what he's done this season. I don't what more he can do. To be a national champion you have to be a special player and he is. He's a different kid and has the mentality and demeanor of a tour pro and it shows out there. 
 
In addition to Blanchet, junior Henry Westmoreland and sophomore Jacob Huizinga shot 74 and 73, respectively, while sophomore Bryce Geraghty had a 78 to give UWF a final-round 298. That gave the Argonauts an 854 team total and earned them the third seed in the 8-team medal/match play portion of the championship. UWF will meet Newberry in the NCAA Quarterfinal round Thursday at 8:20 a.m. Eastern time.
 
Westmoreland tied for 17th at 74-67-74=215, Huizinga tied for 23rd at 68-76-73=217 and sophomore Christian Bosso tied for 26th at 67-71-80. Geraghty rounds included a 71 on Monday before Wednesday's 78. He missed Tuesday with an illness.
 
Barry finished first after stroke play, shooting a 298 in the third round for a 850 total. Florida Southern was second with a 853 total, one shot ahead of UWF. Lynn's 290 – the second-best of the day – moved them into fourth with a 866 total.
 
298 A Season-High Score: UWF's 298 score was tied for its highest all season … The average score for the three days was: 73.19 on Monday, 73.87 on Tuesday and 76.70 on Wednesday.
 
9 Birdies for UWF: The five UWF players combined for nine birdies Wednesday; 2 each from Bosso, Geraghty, Huizinga and Westmoreland IV, with one from Blanchet.
 
S/SE Strength: Of the seven teams that qualified for the NCAA Championships out of the South/Southeast Regional, six occupied the top six spots in stroke play and qualified for the medal/match play portion of the championship. The seventh team, North Alabama finished one shot out of eighth.
 
Medal/Match Play Matchups: With the top eight teams from stroke play qualifying for medal/match play, the matchups are #1 Barry vs. #8 Arkansas Tech; #2 Florida Southern vs. #7 Ferris State; #3 UWF vs. #6 Newberry; #4 Lynn vs. #5 Florida Tech. The quarterfinal winners will play at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
 
UWF-Newberry matchups (eastern time):
8:20 am – Jacob Huizinga vs. Evan DeGrazia
8:30 am – Christian Bosso vs. Spencer Skiff
8:40 am – Henry Westmoreland vs. Harry Bolton
8:50 am – Bryce Geraghty vs. Carlos Leandro
9:00 am – Chandler Blanchet vs. Ben Thompson