Sept. 21, 2021, EAST LANSING, Mich. – After two days and three rounds of competition, the Grand Rapids Community College golf team placed fourth at the Bill Bockwitz Classic on Tuesday.
After rounds of 315 and 321 on Monday, the Raiders finished strong, shooting a 307 to finish with a score of 943 strokes, 79 over par.
There were 60 golfers in all and 10 teams competing at the Timber Ridge Golf Course. The Raiders competed against all four-year schools in the annual event, hosted by Spring Arbor University.
Arie Jackman, of Caledonia, finished tied for third place shooting a 223, with rounds of 75, 76 and 72 strokes. He birdied three holes during the competition.
Jackman said the team had high expectations going into the tournament despite facing tough competition.
“We have a lot of great talent on our team this year but we just need to put it all together,” he said. “I was really proud of the way we bounced back in the final round. We will be working very hard at practice over the next couple of weeks before our next tournament. It's awesome that we finished fourth this week and that there is so much room for improvement. Obviously, the goal is always to win but sometimes you need to take golf as it comes at you and learn from it to be better next time. And that is what we are going to do.”
Logan Templeton, of Portage, also cracked the top 10 with a score of 229 (76-74-79). Davis Courtright, of Zeeland, shot a 240 (81-81-78) to finish 31st.
Matthew Denhartigh (83-93-78), Conner Oman (83-90-81) and Alex Taylor (87-90-77) all finished with their best rounds of the tournament to finish tied for 44th overall with a score of 254.
The GRCC golf team won every tournament it participated in during the spring season, earning the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Championship and National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII Championship. The team finished 11th in the nation at the NJCAA D2 National Tournament.
The Raiders are next scheduled to compete in the Thomas Howard Jr. Memorial Tournament on Oct. 1. Competition will take place at the Lakes of Taylor Golf Course in Taylor, Mich.