Sandburg Men’s Golfer Phillips Punches Ticket to Nationals Again
BYRON — Sophomore Clayton Phillips qualified for his second straight national tournament and was one of two Carl Sandburg College men's golfers to earn All-Region IV honors at the Region IV Division II tournament last weekend.
Phillips finished sixth in the tournament with a 54-hole total of 232 to claim one of five individual qualifying spots for nationals. The top three teams and top five individuals not from those teams advanced to compete in the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship to be played May 23-26 at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind. It marks the 11th year in a row and 15th time in the last 16 seasons that Sandburg men's golf has advanced as a team or qualified an individual for nationals.
Phillips, who tied for 43rd at the national tournament last season, opened the region tourney with rounds of 79 and 78 before closing with a 3-over-par 75 on Saturday to punch his ticket.
Chargers freshman Owen Sipka finished at 240 for the tournament to finish 15th overall. He earned the final spot on the All-Region IV team and will serve as the region's first alternate for the national tournament.
Sandburg was fifth of 12 teams following each of the tournament's three rounds, posting scores of 319, 315 and 329 for a 963 total.
Highland's Riku Moriyama finished at 3 over par for the tournament to win medalist honors by five shots over Bryant & Stratton's Trey Fullmer. Highland also won the team championship, winning by two shots over Alexandria Tech with a 54-hole score of 936.
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