PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL- The Cougars headed to Florida September 23-24 as they took on some of the nations' best in the National Championship Preview hosted at the PGA National Resort. With a field featuring 9 of the top 14 teams in the nation, the Cougars fired their way to a three stroke lead after the first two rounds of play on day one. With heavy rains in Palm Beach Gardens on Tuesday, the final round was canceled and the Cougars were named the tournament champions in their biggest tournament win outside the national championship last year. In addition, with an overall tally of -9,
Sungyeop Cho claimed the individual title for his first win with the Cougars.
ROUND ONE
Cho came out firing in the first round of competition, sinking two birdies on the front nine and five on the back to card a 65 for -6 on the par 71 course.
Xavier Bighaus followed with five birdies to score an even par 71.
Adam Duncan,
Sangha Park and
Bradley Mulder all shot identical scores of 72 to close their rounds as the trio combined for nine birdies.
Peyton Jones competed as an individual and sunk three birdies and an eagle to finish with a 73.
ROUND TWO
Cho continued his excellent play in round two, posting a 68 on five birdies as he finished the tournament nine under par. The effort from Sungyeop gave him the individual title amongst some of the best players in the nation, including the 2024 National Player of the year Leandro Mihaich of Oklahoma Christian. Duncan followed with three birdies for a 69 as he tied for 10th and two birdies and an eagle from Bighaus gave him a 72 for a tie for 16th. Mulder sank two birdies on his way to a 72 and a tie for 18th, while Park shot a 76 to tie for 37th.
Jones was stellar again in round two, firing a 71 on five birdies to tie his teammate Mulder for 18th overall.
As a team, the Cougars shot a total score of 561 (280,281) to finish seven under par and claim the win by three strokes. It was a monumental victory for the team as they backed up their #1 ranking by taking down 8 of the top 14 teams in the country. CCU has done nothing but win this year as they are looking like the team to beat in Division II after winning their first two tournaments of the year.
Colorado Christian will look to win three straight tournaments for the first time in program history September 30-October 1 at the WWU Invitational in Bellingham, Washington.
