Dunagan Claims First Collegiate Win at The Battle at Stono Ferry

Friday, November 3

The Links at Stono Ferry - Hollywood, S.C.

College of Charleston

The Battle at Stono Ferry

Dunagan Claims First Collegiate Win at The Battle at Stono Ferry

11/4/2017 7:45:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Team Results Final Individual Results

HOLLYWOOD, S.C. – Leading up to the 18th, College of Charleston sophomore Hunter Dunagan (Augusta, Ga.) only needed to par the last hole to win his first collegiate tournament.

After shooting an 8-under par and career-low 64 in the opening round, he led wire-to-wire to claim individual medalist honors on Saturday at The Battle at Stono Ferry held at The Links at Stono Ferry.

For the entire back nine of his final round, he held a two-shot lead over Jesper Svensson of Campbell, one-of-two competitors eyeing to exchange spots with him at the top of the leaderboard.

A bogey on the par-4, 16th resulted in a 1-shot lead, but Dunagan recovered with a birdie on the par-5, 17th to take another 2-shot lead over Svensson, who also made par on the 18th to finish at 14-under.

He played the first 36 holes of the tournament flawless – a rarity in the sport. For Dunagan, his first round was his first-ever bogey-free round of his career. To back it up with another in the second round? Simply perfect in every way.

It was also his first lead ever down the stretch of a collegiate tournament – and he handled the new situation with poise and ease to finish at 16-under.

For the tournament, Dunagan shot rounds of 64, 67 and 69 for a 54-hole total of 200, which tied the school record for lowest 54-hole total shared by former Cougar Adam Grodhaus, who shot a 10-under par 200 at the Mason Rudolph Collegiate during the 2002-03 season.

Dunagan also became the first underclassmen to win a tournament title since Josh Lorenzetti won the Southern Conference individual title as a freshman in 2013.

"Congrats to Hunter on his individual win," CofC Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "16-under par is a school record and I am glad he will be in the record books forever. What a great end to the fall for him and I look for it to continue into the spring."

Joining Dunagan in the Top 10 was freshman Reed Bentley (Spartanburg, S.C.), who tied for seventh with three under-par rounds of 70, 71 and 69 (-6). Bentley was one of three Cougar golfers to play in the 68-player field as individuals.

It was a close finish, not only in the individual standings, but the team standings.

CofC battled back-and-forth with Campbell, and at one point, was tied at 21-under par in the middle of the final round. The Camels would edge the Cougars (-22) by three strokes to claim the team tournament title with a three-round score of 839 (-25). It marked a new competitive tournament record at Stono Ferry.

Freshman Raphael Geissler (Karlsruhe, Germany) and sophomore Logan Sowell (Kershaw, S.C.) both tied for 18th (-1), while sophomore Jake Budde (Austin, Texas) tied for 28th (+2). All three shot under-par rounds of 67, 69 and 69 respectively in the second round to put the Cougars in contention with Campbell after 36.

"What a great finish to the fall," McEntire said. "I am very proud of this team and the progress they have made since we started the season. We improved every tournament and the future has never been brighter. I am really proud of the way we played this weekend and look forward to the off-season. I wish would could start the spring tomorrow."

Charleston closes out fall tournament play on a strong note and will return to action in the spring at the SunTrust Gator hosted by the University of Florida on Feb. 17-18, 2018, at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON RESULTS
1. Hunter Dunagan 64-67-69—200
T13. Michael Sass 71-70-73—214
T18. Raphael Geissler 73-67-75—215
T18. Logan Sowell 73-69-73—215
T28. Jake Budde 75-69-74—218

Individuals
T7. Reed Bentley 70-71-69—210
T47. Christian Baliker 75-74-76—225
T61. Fitz Woodrow IV 76-77-80—233