Junior Derek Bard defended his first-place title as Virginia finished 10th in the U.S. Collegiate Championship this weekend at the Golf Club of Georgia.
Bard split the individual honors among three other competitors with a weekend score of 6-under 210. Bard won sole individual honors at last fall’s U.S Collegiate, when he posted a tournament-record 15-under 201. Going into Sunday’s final round, Bard was in third place — two strokes behind Auburn junior Will Long — but his even-par 72 performance allowed him to catch Long and Wake Forest freshman Cameron Young to tie for a first-place finish.
Bard carried the Cavaliers, who had finished in the top five in their first three tournaments leading up to the weekend. Junior Jimmy Stanger finished second for the Cavaliers and 36th overall at 5-over 221.
As a team, Virginia recorded a 12-over 876 aggregate tournament score. Auburn and Wake Forest, the 2nd- and 3rd-ranked teams in the nation, tied for first in team competition at 9-under 855. Rounding out the top ten in order were Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Texas, Stanford, USC, Oklahoma and Virginia.
Virginia has one tournament left in its fall season — the Charleston Southern Kiawah Classic, which takes place from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3 in Kiawah Island, SC.