SPRINGFIELD, OHIO – Holden Yakola (Mebane, N.C.) maintained his strong fall and was joined by fellow freshman, Connor Lynde (Winston-Salem, N.C.) in the top-20 individually for the (RV) Guilford College men's golf team as they secured their top team finish thus far this season, claiming sixth with a team score of 895 (+31) at the Jeff Roope Invitational, hosted by Wittenberg University at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio on Monday and Tuesday.

It was seasonably pleasant in western Ohio, with clear skies, dry conditions, a moderate breeze, and temps sitting in the upper 60's throughout the competition. The course at Springfield Country Club is the shortest of the fall for Guilford, featuring 6,729 yards throughout the par-72 course. The field averaged a little over four-and-a-half strokes above, with the average round score settling at 76.58 over the two days. Just a tandem of top-25 squads from the Bushnell/Golfweek national poll made the trip out with the rankings holding as No. 8 John Carroll University topped the field as the lone below-par squad with a score of 858 (-6). The only other Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) squad in attendance, No. 21 University of Lynchburg finished as the runner-up with 864 (+3) strokes. The hosts, Wittenberg, rounded out the top-three with a score of 868 (+10).

Cracking the lineup for the first time in his collegiate career, Lynde was impressive for the Quakers, tying two-other players for 19^th with a 223 (+7). Deployed to the fourth pin in the shotgun start, he opened with a birdie, bogey, birdie sequence then finished the remainder of the front nine at par to sit one-under at the turn. Birdies on 11 and 12 got the freshman three strokes under par at one point, but a trio of one-overs between 14 and 18 got him back to even, which is where he would stand at the conclusion of his very strong first-collegiate round at 72 (E). His second 18 was trickier, racking up seven bogeys over his first ten holes and later double-bogeying on 17. Birdies on 18 and two salvaged his score some, but he would finish in 80 (+8) strokes. Lynde's finish was a return to form, though, finding a nice rhythm at the turn. Posting five par pins over his first six tees, his lone blemish was a two-over on eight, but he swiftly erased that with back-to-back-to-back birdies from 10 through 12. After bogeying 18, he once again erased it with a birdie on one, finishing the round below-par at 71 (-1), and the competition tied atop the Guilford leaderboard.

Yakola was the man alongside Lynde at the top, continuing a great fall season with a really hot start, shooting a 223 (+7). Opening on one, he would not have an over-par hole until 13, accumulating five birdies along the way. Offsetting a one-under on 14 with a one-over on 15 then finishing with another birdie on 18, the lefty closed the round with a 67 (-5), matching the best round by any Quaker over the past four seasons, and finishing with the lowest round score by a Guilford freshman since Justin Perdue at the Gordin Collegiate Classic back in September of 2015. Things did unravel a little in the second round for Yakola, particularly on the back-nine as he finished the round with a couple birdies, but also six bogeys and three holes at two-above to finish with an 82 (+10) although that score would get thrown out of the team score. He regrouped and finished the competition strong, as his final 18 featured a dozen pars in addition to birdies on one, five, and 12. A bogey on 11 and doubles on eight and 15 pushed him above par, but also kept him below the event average, finishing the round with a 74 (+2) and the event tied for 19^th.

Gavin Peach (Charlotte, N.C.) was the third Quaker scorer, contributing to all-three rounds for GC and finishing with a 226 (+10). He opened the event on-par with the field, shooting a 76 (+4). Starting on the second flag he offset a bogey on four with a birdie on six before going four-over on eight. Excellent work on the par-five 12^th hole netted him an eagle, although one-overs on 10 and 16 offset it to finish the trip. Like the other Quakers, the second round saw a step-back. He started great with a birdie on the par-three third flag, but with five bogeys and a three-over the rest of the way, his round score would rise to 79 (+7). Peach would finish the event well, playing level golf for the entire front-nine with the exception of a one-over on seven. The backside of the course would be better, once again registering just one bogey, on 13, while also finishing below par on 11, 12, and 16, bringing his round to a 71 (-1) and his placing to a tie for 30^th.

The next GC finisher was Charley Robinson (Raleigh, N.C.) as the GC youth movement continued. Beginning on three, his start was tough, posting a bogey then a triple and then another bogey. He settled down though, recording just a single above-par hole the remainder of his initial round, on 16, and he actually finished his round with a birdie on two, closing with a 77 (+5) score that ultimately would not even count toward the team tallies. The second trip was tough, once again only getting one birdie, this time on 12, but he also had six holes at one-over and one other at two-above to post a 79 (+7) round. Robinson's final trip was great, though, breaking even on 11 pins, he birdied on two and nine, and while five above-par holes got him over 72, he turned in a quality scoring round of 75 (+3) and finished tied for 45^th.

Sawyer Slate (Walnut Cove, N.C.) rounded out the GC lineup, taking a tie for 59^th with a 235 (+19) score, largely caused by his closing round. Slate's first-two trips were around the competition average. Starting on one, he birdied on two then bogeyed three, before another one-over on six got him to the turn at just one-above. The back nine saw him birdie 12, but three bogeys in a four-hole span from 15 through 18 brought him to a still strong 75 (+3). The front half of his second trip mirrored his first round, going one-under on two then one-over on three and six. Then on the back, he had a trio of bogeys, this time on 10, 12, and 16, just without a birdie to offset this time, topping the Quaker scorers in the round, shooting a 76 (+4). It was just the final trip that hurt the freshman, posting a triple-bogey on four and never really recovering from there with two doubles and five one-overs to shoot an 84 (+12) dampening the mood on an otherwise standout couple of days.

Guilford did also have a single designated individual, sending Kelani Centeno (North Miami Beach, Fla.) as the fifth freshman of their six participants out onto the course, and he would have contributed if designated to, tying for 22^nd overall with a 224 (+8). Sent to the 15^th flag to start, he bogeyed on 16 and then one after the turn, but settled in nicely from there, splitting birdies on two and nine with one-above's on seven and 13, rounding out the trip with a 74 (+2). Centeno's second trip was a bit more of a rollercoaster, accruing just seven pars, but the yield was actually better, as he countered bogeys on 16, one, four, six, seven, and 11 with birdies on 17, two, eight, 12, and 13 to net a team-best 73 (+1) on the second trip. While his final round is the only one that would not have aided on the board, the Sunshine State product turned in another quality trip. One-overs on 16 and 17 ahead of the turn gave way to a birdie on two. Four-straight non-par pins from four through seven saw three above and one below par before another run from 11 through 13 featured a birdie then bogey, then double-bogey. In the end he finished just-above the average round with a 77 (+5) final trip.

The Quakers close the autumn at home, hosting the O'Briant Jensen Memorial Tournament on Monday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 27 up the road from campus at The Cardinal by Pete Dye.

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