St. John's University Athletics
Johnnies Open Fall Season With The Invitational At Kiawah
9/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's men's golf team will begin its fall campaign on Sunday as it travels to the Ocean Course at Kiawah - dubbed by Golf Digest as the toughest golf course in the country - for the Invitational at Kiawah in Kiawah Island, S.C.
The 54-hole tournament will feature three days of golf, with 18 holes being played each day. The 2012 tournament will be the third year of the event at the par-72, 7,200-yard course which was the site of the 2012 PGA Championship.
This year's event features a 15-team field including: Akron, Davidson, Georgia Southern, Houston, Mercer, USC-Aiken, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin St., Texas State, UT-Arlington, Alabama-Birmingham, USC Upstate, defending champion Florida, host-College of Charleston and St. John's.
Seniors
A trio of talented seniors in Pat Wilson, Jeremy Quinn, and Ryan Gay will lead the charge for the Johnnies and head coach Frank Darby as they search for a conference-record 10th BIG EAST crown in 2012-13.
Wilson led the team in stroke average in 2011-12 at 73.48 strokes per round. The all-BIG EAST and PING Northeast all-region team member posted a team-best five top-10 finishes, including his first career win during his junior campaign, capturing the title at the St. John's-hosted Caribbean Intercollegiate in the spring. During the summer, Wilson qualified for U.S. Open sectionals, the U.S. Amateur Championship and the round of 16 in match play of the Metropolitan Amateur Championship.
Quinn comes into his fourth year at St. John's after playing in 10 events as a junior, with his best finish coming at the Caribbean Intercollegiate where he tied for fifth. He also posted a top-25 finish when he tied for 23rd at the Wildcat Invitational.
Gay enters his first year as a member of the Johnnies after three years at New Mexico. His sophomore year with the Lobos, Gay posted a 75.88 stroke average over 32 rounds. He has the distinction of being the youngest-ever three-time winner of the Maine Amateur Championship.
Junior and Sophomores
The other half of the Red Storm roster boasts as much talent in junior Ryan McCormick and sophomores Dylan Crowley and Mitch Hadfield.
McCormick enjoyed one of the best amateur summers in tri-state history, claiming the NYC Amatuer for the second-straight year, the New Jersey Amateur and the Met Amateur titles. He also was the medalist at the Wheatley Hills U.S. Open qualifying tournament and was one of three Johnnies to make U.S. Open sectionals. In 2011-12, McCormick was second on the team with a 73.63 stroke average, three top-10 finishes and three more finishes in the top-15. His best result came at the Wildcat Invitational where he placed second. He also was the Red Storm's low finisher at the BIG EAST Championship where he tied for seventh on his way to spots on the all-BIG EAST and PING Northeast all-region teams.
Crowley was the third member of the Red Storm to represent the team at U.S. Open sectionals this summer. He also joined Wilson in the field for the U.S. Amateur Championship and was the lone member of the team to make the field for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. His summer success followed a freshman campaign where he posted a 75.59 average with three top-15 finishes including a tie for seventh at the Caribbean Intercollegiate. He posted a 74.89 average in the spring and tied for 14th at the BIG EAST Championship.
Hadfield has one semester of collegiate golf under his belt, but has already made an impression for the Red Storm. The England native played in six events in the spring, with his best results coming at the Wildcat Invitational, where he tied for sixth on his way to a 76.27 stroke average on the season.
Schedule
The Red Storm will play a five-tournament slate in the fall of 2012, beginning with the Invitational at Kiawah. The Johnnies will then return home to host The McLaughlin from Sept. 15-16 at Bethpage State Park, the site of the 2012 Barclays. The team will then head to The Macdonald Cup from Sept. 29-30 before hosting the Mission Inn Classic Oct. 19-21 in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. The Red Storm wraps up its season at the Wendy's Kiawah Classic for the second-straight year from Oct. 28-30.
Live stats will be available for all three rounds of the Invitational at Kiawah on Golfstat.com. For all the latest news on the Red Storm as it begins its spring campaign, log on to RedStormSports.com and follow the team (@STJ_MensGolf) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with the hashtag, #stjmg.
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