May 7, 2006 – Port St. Lucie, Fl. – A good start followed by a steady decline is probably the best way to describe the path of the Morehouse golfers in the 20th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, held this weekend.
After the first day of competition, Morehouse was in second place and trailed eventual winner Fayetteville State University by only 13 strokes. But when the final shots were fired, the Maroon Tigers were 54 holes off the pace, landing in fourth place in the seven-team Division II field.
Approximately 125 contestants from 28 colleges and universities, representing 14 countries comprised the field for the three-day golfing and scholarship event. The competitors were divided into NCAA Division I and Division II groups.
Jordan Heath (in file photo above) led the Maroon Tigers with a three-day score of 242. The senior from Detroit shot a 74 in the first round that was good for third place among all DII golfers at the end of day one. However, Heath found rough sledding in round two and his score ballooned to 85. An 84 on the final round completed the scoring for Heath who finished in ninth place overall with a 54-hole score of plus-26.
Esquire Ward who shot 246 and finished tied for 11th place overall was the only Maroon Tiger whose score improved during the tournament. The sophomore from Stone Mountain, Ga. shot 84-83-79.
The Maroon Tigers finished two strokes behind North Carolina Central and 35 strokes ahead of Benedict Collect, the only other SIAC team in the field.
State Farm Insurance and The Golf Channel have combined to produce a one-hour Championship highlight program, which will air on July 6, 2006, at 6 p.m. EDT.
Morehouse 323-337-336 -- 996 +132
Jordan Heath 74-85-83--242 +26
Esquire Ward 84-83-79--246 +30
Ed Hills 79-84-87--250 +34
Steven Wooten 86-85-87--258 +42
Sean Means 102-104-101--307 +91
The order of finish in the DII section:
Fayetteville State University – 942
Lincoln University (Mo.) – 950
North Carolina Central University – 994
Morehouse College – 996
Benedict College – 1,031
Winston-Salem State University – 1,041
St. Augustine’s College – 1,159
For a complete listing of scores and results, visit www.pga.com/tournaments/events/national-minority-2006.cfm.
