BROKEN ARROW, Okla.—The Southern Nazarene Men's Golf team achieved their highest team finish at the Great American Conference Championships since 2019 as they took 6th in their final tournament of the year.
The GAC Championships were a three-round tournament held April 21-23 at the Club at Forest Ridge in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The course played as a par-72, 6,826 yards. Henderson State claimed their third straight team championship, fending off Harding by six strokes. The Reddies lineup featured four players in the top-10, and all five players in the top-17.
Southern Nazarene claimed sixth as a team with a three-round total of 932. They improved each round, following a 313 round one with a 312 in round two and 307 round three. The Storm were tied for 6th with Arkansas-Monticello after round one, but upped their game to claim solo sixth after round two, and held their ground through round three. The Storm finished just seven strokes behind Arkansas Tech for 5th place.
It was a welcome sight for the Crimson Storm to have Noah Kern back on the course. After missing the last few tournaments, Kern returned to the SNU lineup and paced the Storm with a top-20 finish. He shot 77-78-75 for a three-round total of 230 and a T-19 finish. He was phenomenal on par-3s as he was just one of two players in the entire field to shoot even or better on the shorter holes.
Landon Hendrix followed Kern with a three-round total of 233. He improved each day, going from an 82 in round one to a 76 in round two, and 75 in round three. This allowed him to climb from 39th on the leaderboard all the way to a T-22 finish. He shot 4-under on par-5s in the tournament.
Dawson Dunlap took T-26 after finishing two strokes behind Hendrix at 235. He shot 79-77-79 for his three rounds. Sam Schmidt finished another two strokes behind Dunlap at 237 with rounds of 77, 82, and 78 for a solo 29th finish.
Mason Sebrant rounded out the SNU lineup in solo 36th. He shot rounds of 80, 81, and 83 for a three-round total of 244.
The GAC Championships bring an end to SNU's 2023-24 season. They will begin looking ahead to the fall for the 2024-25 season.
