Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing the shutdown of many sports, six members of the Temple University golf team participated independently in the 69th Delaware Amateur Championship at Heritage Shores in Bridgeville, Delaware, from June 22-24.
Rising senior Dawson Anders won with a first-hole birdie in a three-hole playoff. He met par on the two other holes.
Anders tied for first place with the 2019 winner, Evan Brown, a Loyola University rising senior and Austin Barbin, a University of Maryland rising sophomore, at the end of four rounds.
“When we were in South Carolina [on March 9 and 10 for the Cleveland Palmetto Intercollegiate], that was our last event before they canceled the season, he finished fifth down there against one of the best fields that you can compete against,” coach Brian Quinn said. “He’s been playing well for quite a while.”
Temple suspended all spring sports on March 12, and the NCAA made the same decision later that day.
Quinn was not at the tournament because it was not an official collegiate golf event, he said. The teammates registered individually.
Anders broke par 22 times with 21 birdies and an eagle.
“I was really happy with how I played this week, it was a lot of fun,” Anders said to the Delaware State Golf Association on Twitter following his victory.
It was his first appearance at the tournament, he added.
Anders scored a personal tournament-low 65 in the third round Wednesday morning. He took the sole first-place lead into the final round, but Brown and Barbin closed the lead in the final nine holes of the fourth round.
At one-over on the final hole, Anders thought he was behind Brown and Barbin, he said.
“I assumed they were right there with me,” Anders said. “I looked [at the leaderboard], and they were.”
Anders sat tied for first place at the end of the second round on Tuesday. Rising redshirt-senior Aaron Tobin, rising junior Buddy Hansen, rising junior Conor McGrath and rising redshirt-senior Liam McGrath also advanced to Wednesday’s third and fourth rounds.
Conor McGrath finished tied for 19th place while his brother, Liam McGrath finished 25th. Tobin finished 29th, and Hansen came close behind with a tie for 31st. Two strokes separated Tobin and Hansen.
On the first day of play, rising senior Matthew Kristick competed but did not advance at 15 over-par.
The players plan to compete in other events, such as the Philadelphia Open Championship on July 13-14 and the Pennsylvania Open Championship on August 10-12, Quinn said.
“The summer season is when all the major amateur events are, certainly for guys like [Anders] and Conor McGrath,” Quinn said.
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