Southwestern Community College sophomore Aidan Rooke led the Spartan men's golf team to a fourth-place finish here Monday and Tuesday at the Kansas City Cup.
Rooke, of Western Cape, South Africa, earned medalist honors at the 54-hole tournament, shooting 72-75-71 – 218 for a 2-over-par total of 218.
With his final-round 1-under, Rooke cruised to a six-stroke victory over runner-up Cholnan Nunya of Park University.
Park University put three in the top four to win the team title with a total of 46-over. Rockhurst and host William Jewell tied for second at 61-over, with Southwestern four strokes back in fourth place in the field of eight.
"Aidan was tied for the lead heading into the final round, and then just kind of ran away with it," Southwestern Head Coach Doug North said. "He led the field in pars, finished third in birdies. Those two stats, if you can finish toward the top, you're going to have a really good tournament."
With the team getting a practice round in on site on Sunday, North said that played a large part in Rooke's success.
"Aidan is a preparer, so when we're able to go and do a practice round and approach a tournament the right way, his yardage book is full of notes," North said. "He knows what he's going to do (in the round) before he gets to that point."
North said Rooke's putting, which had been a struggle for him so far during the fall portion of the schedule, finally came back to his baseline. Statistically one of the best putters in the NJCAA last year, North projects Rooke to be right back at the top of that category by the end of the year.
By winning the Kansas City Cup, Rooke also earned points in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). North believes Rooke is the first golfer he has coached to earn WAGR points.
"There's not a lot of tournaments in the U.S. that junior colleges play in that are WAGR events, and the Kansas City Cup happens to be one of them," North said. "So him winning that will earn him official WAGR points. So sometime next week you'll be able to see his profile online along with all of the big Division I schools, some of the best amateurs in the world, which will be huge for him going to the next level and being recruited."
Sophomore Robin Persson of Ljungby, Sweden, also had a strong tournament for the Spartans, finishing in a tie for ninth place. Persson shot 17-over for the 54-hole tournament.
Other scoring members for the Spartan lineup were Sebastian Camacho at 21-over, and Isac Fredriksson at 26-over.
Southwestern returns to action Oct. 10-11 at the Virginia McCoy Invitational, hosted by Park University at The National Golf Club in Kansas City. The fall portion of the schedule concludes Oct. 17-18 at the North Central District Championship Preview at Lake Panorama National Golf Course in Panora.
Kansas City Cup
Team standings – 1. Park University 910; T2. Rockhurst 925; T2. William Jewell College 925; 4. Southwestern CC 929; 5. Baker University 937; 6. Rockhurst "B" 948; 7. William Jewell College "B" 981; 8. North Central Missouri College 1039.
Medalist – Aidan Rooke, Southwestern CC, 72-75-71 – 218.
Runner-up – Cholnan Nunya, Park University, 73-74-77 – 224.
Southwestern CC – 1. Aidan Rooke, 72-75-71 – 218; T9. Robin Persson, 74-77-82 – 233; 20. Sebastian Camacho, 84-76-77 – 237; 29. Isac Fredriksson, 79-84-79 – 242, T41. Stetson McIlravy, 83-85-86 – 253.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up