PLYMOUTH, IN – Walters State's AJ Rinehart gave it a run on Friday afternoon in the final round of the NJCAA DII Golf Championship, finishing in third-place at four-under.
As a team, the Senators also finished third at 28-over. The Senators tied with South Mountain CC but outlasted them in a playoff to claim third place. It's the highest finish for Walters State since finishing in second in 2019.
Coming into the day tied for first, Rinehart shot a one-under on Friday. He briefly took the lead by a shot after birdies on five and six and then tied for the lead with a birdie on nine. One last birdie on 15 put Rinehart close but a bogey on 16 and pars on 17 and 18 left him two shots back.
With his third-place finish, Rinehart earned NJCAA 1st Team All-American honors and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He's the first Walters State golfer named NJCAA 1st Team All-American since Alex Hodge in 2019.
Earning NJCAA 2nd Team All-American and All-Tournament honors for the Senators was JT McKenzie. McKenzie entered the day at six-over and that's where he finished, good enough for a tied for 12th finish. McKenzie shot two-over on the front nine on Friday but had birdies on 13, 15 and 18 to shoot even-par for the round.
Rounding out things for Walters State were Jeremy Ellis (T-45), Sawyer Spoone (T-49) and Chad Homan (T-75). Ellis shot a 16-over for the tournament after an even-par final round on Friday. Ellis birdied five and six and then eagled the 512-yard par-5 15th.
Meanwhile, Spoone shot an 80 on Friday to finish at 17-over with birdies on three, 13 and 18. Homan rounded things out with a 78 to finish at 26-over. He birdied the third and 15th holes.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics