[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — While the season hasn’t reached the always-high expectations placed on the Hutchinson Community College men’s golf team in 2017, a strong finish is definitely a possibility.
The No. 10-ranked Blue Dragons will open play in the 72-hole NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships on Tuesday at Buffalo Dunes in Garden City.
The Blue Dragons finished second in the Jayhawk Conference title chase in 2017 and followed that with a second-place Region VI finish and a fourth-place NJCAA District III finish to qualify for the national championships for the 17th consecutive season and 20th time overall.
The reason for the potential of a strong national tournament came in the final round of the District III on April 25. The Blue Dragons put together one of the best overall rounds in team history on that day.
Hutchinson carded a 5-under 283 at Firekeeper Golf Club in Mayetta on that day. Individually, freshman Cole Gritton led the way with a 4-under 68. Fellow freshman Matt Percy was right on Gritton’s heels at 3-under 69. Sophomore Wil Arnold shot even-par 72 and freshman Doug Rios-Ceballos shot 2-over 74.
The Blue Dragons will play a Buffalo Dunes course capable of yielding low scores, but can become treacherous when the wind starts to blow hard.
This will be the third time the Blue Dragons have played Buffalo Dunes this season. In the National Preview on Oct. 10 and 11, Hutch shot rounds of 305, 292 and 296 to finish fourth in that event. Earlier this spring at the Southwest Kansas Shootout on April 10 and 11, Hutchinson had back-to-back rounds of 309 in the 36-hole event.
The 2017 Blue Dragons are trying to do something done only once before in program history … that’s finish in the NJCAA Top 10 for three consecutive Top 10 finishes.
The 2015 Blue Dragons were ninth at nationals and the 2016 team finished eighth. The only other time the Blue Dragons finished in the national top 10 for three-straight seasons was 2006, 2007 and 2008.
On Tuesday, the Blue Dragons will be paired with Eastern Arizona College and defending national champion McLennan. The Dragons will tee off between 9:30 and 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday and will play with the same teams but have the late-morning tee times for Wednesday’s second round.