SPARTANBURG, S.C. – It was freshman Joel Ramirez leading the way for Bethune-Cookman Men’s Golf on Tuesday, as the Wildcats turned in a seventh place finish at the Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational housed at The Country Club of Spartanburg. The two-day, 54-hole event was hosted by Wofford in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Joel Ramirez, a freshman from Barcelona, Spain, led the Wildcats across all three round in this year’s Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational. He fired rounds of 69, 69 and 74, with his Tuesday final round 2-over 74 being the highest on his three-round scorecard. That allowed Ramirez to finish tied for eighth in the tournament, after he sat in the top five through the first 36 holes. He finished at 4-under for the tournament on a collective 212 score line.
For Ramirez, this is his second top 10 finish of the year, after joining the program in January.
Bethune-Cookman senior Jackson Kneeshaw (74-70-72=216, E) finished the tournament tied for 21st overall. The Darlington, England native sported a final round even par scorecard, allowing him to turn in the second top 25 performance of the 2015-16 campaign.
Fellow senior Liam Chambers (71-73-75=219, +3) fired a final round 3-over 75, allowing the Hermitage Academy alum to place tied for 29th on the leaderboard. For Chambers, the 219 (+3) card was the best three-round performance of the season for the Helensburgh, Scotland native.
Sitting tied alongside Chambers on the final leaderboard was senior All-MEAC member Leon Fricker (74-70-75=219, +3), sporting a final round 3-over 75 on Tuesday. The Ivybridge, England product finished tied for 29th, accounting for the ninth top 30 finish of the campaign. He has finished in the top 30 of all tournaments all season.
Scott Lemon (84-81-79=244, +28) was the final golfer for the Wildcats, finishing 89th. He amassed a final round 7-over 79, cutting his strokes down by more than five from a day prior across his opening 36 holes.
As a team, Bethune-Cookman (288-282-296=866, +2) finished seventh overall, but began the day in fourth place. The Wildcats dropped three spots on a wet course Tuesday, with heavy rain hitting the Spartanburg area late Monday evening. It was the team’s sixth top 10 showing of the spring season.
Gardner-Webb (283-281-283=847, -17) garnered the team trophy, while host Wofford (281-285-286=852, -12) finished as the runner-up.
The individual medalist for the tournament was Vincent Blanchette (68-65-69=202, -14) of the winning Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs.
Bethune-Cookman now sets its sights on the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships taking place April 23-25, in Savannah, Georgia. The Wildcats won the inaugural MEAC Championship in 2014, advancing to the school’s first NCAA Tournament in men’s golf.