Championship Coverage

ETSU's Michael Stewart charged up from 10th place in the final round to claim Medalist honors.
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BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Gusting winds and hardening greens brought scores up across the board at The Creek Course at Keith Hills Country Club, but Campbell finished off a wire-to-wire victory in the 2009 Atlantic Sun Men’s Golf Championship, winning by seven shots.

After two rounds of play that featured 19 of 22 team scores under 300, only three schools, Mercer, ETSU and Stetson broke that mark as winds howled throughout the round, at times blowing resting golf balls off the putting green. Campbell’s score, 302, tied for the fourth-best of the day. The Camels closest competition entering the round, UNF, could only match Campbell in finishing second for the fourth time in five years, all to different winners.

Camel sophomore Zak Drescher, who won 2008 U.S. Amateur sectional qualifier on The Creek Course, registered one of the two sub-par rounds of the day, a one-under, 71, moving up from a tie for 37th to his final position, a tie for 14th. Freshman Vaita Guillaume, the two-day leader, closed with a four-over, 76, to finish as the runner-up. Matt Moot and Isak Pettersen joined Drescher as part of a seven-way tie for 14th.

On the individual side, ETSU’s Michael Stewart joined Gareth Shaw last season and his teammate, Seamus Power in 2007, as the third straight Buccaneer to win the A-Sun’s Medalist honor. Like Power two years ago, Stewart won as a freshman. He improved from a tie for 10th to the top spot on the strength of the day’s other under-par round, also a one-under, 71, to finish at three-under, 213. After a two-over start on his first nine holes, Stewart carded three straight birdies followed by three straight pars to claim victory. The 27th-ranked Buccaneers moved up to fourth from seventh.

Mercer picked up its best showing since 1993, finishing third, two strokes in back of UNF and nine behind the winning Camels. Four Bears, Ryan Blackburn, Bill Jones III, Matt Tribby and Andres Pumariega shot 75 or better in posting the best team score of the round, a seven-over, 295. The Bears’ two seniors, Blackburn and Jones III finished in the top five to earn All-Tournament honors. Blackburn finished alone in third at one-under, 215 after shooting an even-par, 72, on Wednesday. Jones III shot a two-over, 74, to share fifth with Stetson’s Tommy Parker and USC Upstate’s Josh Gallman.

FGCU closed out its inaugural Atlantic Sun Championship in fifth place followed by Stetson and USC Upstate. Kennesaw State, third entering Wednesday, finished eighth with Jacksonville, Belmont and Lipscomb rounding out the field.

Campbell and Stewart earned automatic spots in the NCAA Regionals. Regional play will take place from May 14 to 16th on six courses. Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey; University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas; Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif.; Red Trail Golf Club in Sorrento Fla.; The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.; and Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., will serve as the host courses.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.