With a strong fourth-round performance, the Odessa College men’s golf team took second place in the 2022 NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championship Friday at the Odessa Country Club’s Links Course.
The Wranglers carded rounds of 287-303-279-281—1150 in the tournament, finishing 20 shots behind Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College (284-282-282-282—1130) which claimed its second-straight national title.
Hutchinson took control early with a dominant first round, cruised through windy conditions on the second day and maintained a consistent flow of momentum in the final two rounds.
“Any time you finish top five in the national championship it’s a great accomplishment, but obviously we wanted to win it all on our home soil,” Odessa College coach Paul Chavez said. “National runner-up is nothing to be ashamed of, just really proud of my guys.”
Midland College (291-297-284-279—1151) took third, securing the spot after three of New Mexico Junior College’s golfers recorded bogeys on the last two holes.
The Wranglers were paced by Sangha Park, who finished tied for 12th in the individual standings after carding a 2-under 70 in the final round for a 288 total score.
Marcelo Garza (289), Laurenz Kubin (289) and Max Cooper (289) tied for 14th while Jeff Lebeau put up a 139 after playing the final two rounds to round out the scoring for Odessa College.
Chavez said his golfers had a great year, following a recent trend that saw former Wranglers teams kick their play into another gear at the end of the season.
Playing against tough competition in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference ultimately helped the tournament hosts in the long run.
“It’s always great competition, our conference is by far the best conference in the country,” Chavez said. “Playing those guys week in and week out obviously helps us prepare for big events like this.
“It’s nice to have great teams in our own conference.”
JT Pittman of Monahans led Midland College, taking first in the individual standings after defeating Hutchinson’s Dominic Clemons in a two-hole playoff after the golfers were tied at the top with scores of 281.
Midland College coach Walt Williams called Pittman a fierce competitor and said he has seen steady improvement from the sophomore since he started wathcing him play at the high school level.
“He shot 31 on the last nine holes to get in the playoff and then won the playoff,” Williams said. “Couldn’t be any more proud of him, I think that’s his fourth win of his career and it’s a pretty good one to do it.”
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