Sports > November 15, 2007

By Connor Swarbrick | Staff writer

There is only one club sport on campus that has won a national championship, club golf, which recently won its second title. The national championship was held Oct. 27-28 at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va. Wake Forest finished first with a team total of 768. Virgina Tech came in second, 11 strokes behind the Deacons with a score of 779. Coastal Carolina finished third with 785 total strokes. Sophomore Craig Foster’s two-round total of 152 was good enough for third in the event.

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The men’s club golf team won its second national Championship Oct. 14. (Photo courtesy of the club golf team)

The club golf team holds tryouts every fall. This fall they had approximately 60 men try out for the team and after two rounds, they formed a team of 18. The average handicap on the club golf team is about a 2. The National Collegiate Club Golf Association consists of 32 teams. Those teams are split up into divisions and regions. There are three tournaments each semester: divisional, regional and national. The club golf team, led by senior President Scott Brugler, finished first place in their divisional. Tanglewood, in Clemmons, N.C., played host to the divisional tournament Sept. 29-30. Freshman Alex Miller posted the low score for the Deacons. The team then advanced to the regional which was held Oct. 13-14 at Keith Hill Country Club in Buies Creek, N.C. Brugler posted the low score and led the team to a third-place finish, which was good enough to advance them to national championship. Brugler, who plans to work for the government in Washington, D.C. next year or at an environmental consulting firm, has enjoyed his experience as president of the club golf team.

“I love the game of golf and also excel when placed in leadership roles so it was a perfect match for me,” Brugler said. “Wake Forest has such a rich tradition of being a great golf school, yet there are still some very good golfers who are not playing varsity, so club golf gives those kids an opportunity to continue their competitive careers.”

Brugler said his favorite club golf memory is when the team won the national championship by five strokes last year after trailing UNC by three going into the final round. Foster will replace Brugler as president next year and will try to lead the club golf team to an unprecedented third national championship.