North Carolina State rallies to its first victory in 10th PGA Jones Cup

North Carolina State University, of Raleigh, N.C., used a final-round push Wednesday to capture the 10th PGA Jones Cup presented by Golf Pride.
 
The Wolfpack closed with a final-round 9-over-par 297 and a 609 total, at PGA Golf Club's Wanamaker Course, to defeat runner-up University of Nevada-Las Vegas, by six strokes.
 
N.C. State claimed its first PGA Jones Cup title after standing four strokes back and in a tie for third place following the opening round.
 
"Everyone put in a total team effort today," said Andy Betz, PGA Internship Coordinator, who served as the coach for N.C. State's PGA Jones Cup Team. "Down the stretch on No. 18, a couple of guys really hung tough. It was awesome to watch them. We knew we had a good team coming down here."
 
The Wolfpack was led by senior Bryce Aronson, who used three birdies en route to a final round 1-under-par 71 and 147 total.
 
"I just kept hitting the ball in the fairway, and that is extremely helpful. And I didn't get in trouble on the par 3s," he said. "If you can do both of those things, you have a pretty good chance of playing well."
 
Aronson credited a total team effort, with each player playing an integral role in the victory.
 
"It was pretty windy yesterday, so it was really hard to score," said Aronson. "But our team had a pep talk last night about bringing the title to Raleigh, and that's just what we did."
 
Second-place UNLV, which finished with a total of 615, was led by Daniel Inocencio, who posted the low round of the tournament, with a 68. Inocencio put together an impressive birdie-birdie-par-eagle run on Nos. 10-13.
 
"I got a bit lucky on a couple of shots on those holes. I carried water, got up and down, and had a chip-out eagle on 13," said Inocencio. "I credit my teammates for picking me up and getting me ready to play today."
 
Coastal Carolina University finished in third at 616.
 
First-round leader Arizona State University took fourth place with a 619 total.
 
Florida State University, which featured local product Lauren Himebaugh, of Palm City, Fla., who was the lone female competitor in the 100-player event, came in fifth place, with a 620 total.
 
Defending Champion Mississippi State University finished in sixth place at 621.
 
The 36-hole event, featuring all 20 schools in the PGA Golf Management University program, included the top five players from each University.
 
The event brought together teams from 16 states, which were competing at PGA Golf Club for the fourth consecutive year.
 
The PGA Jones Cup presented by Golf Pride is named for the first PGA Golf Management University Program Director at Mississippi State University, Dr. S. Roland Jones, who held the position from 1985, until his passing in 1997.
 
The event serves to provide a platform where participants can display professionalism, integrity, character and camaraderie; all characteristics Dr. Jones instilled in PGA Golf Management students.
 
All participating universities in the PGA Jones Cup presented by Golf Pride are schools accredited by The PGA of America to offer the four-and-one half to five-year PGA Golf Management University Program for aspiring PGA Professionals. The college curriculum provides extensive classroom studies, internship experience and player development, and provides students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills to succeed in the golf industry as a PGA Professional.
 
Students in the PGA Golf Management University Program study a combination of golf and business-related subjects, as well as serve a minimum of 16 months in on-course internships within the golf industry.

Final Scores:
 
1. North Carolina State University 312-297--609
Bryce Aronson 76-71--147
Ben Nelson 73-78--151
Wes Conover 82-73--155
Rupe Taylor 81-76--157
Caleb Ridings 83-77-160-

2. University of Nevada-Las Vegas 313-302--615
Sean Kenny 80-72--152
Daniel Inocencio 86-68--154
Cameron Alford 75-83--158
Stan Bednarski 80-79--159
Stephen Dowling 78-84--162

3. Coastal Carolina University 323-293--616
Mark Ingalls 83-71--154
Joe Mileur 82-72--154
Kevin Sieger 80-77--157
Nick Deni 84-73--157
John DiPilato 78-81--159

4. Arizona State University 308-311--619
Timmy Osterbind 74-79--153
Reed Black 78-77--155
Yong Kim 79-76--155
Jeffrey Emmerich 77-81--158
Camden Herzog 82-79--161

5. Florida State University 314-306--620
Reid Howey 78-74--152
Chris Zumpano 79-73--152
Matt Frith 76-81--157
Lauren Himebaugh 83-78--161
Dan Mahoney 81-81--162

6. Mississippi State University 324-297--621
Mark Ledom 81-69--150
Blake Hatfield 77-73--150
Andrew Sterritt 82-74--156
Jay Hunter 84-82--166
Ryan Oliver 85-81--166

7. New Mexico State University 318-305--623
Elliott Wilson 78-71--149
Brett Walker 76-82--158
Casey Moen 81-77--158
Erick Henderson 85-76--161
Tyler Kuhn 83-81--164

8. Methodist University 309-317--626
Bob Glass 77-76--153
Alex Pisano 75-81--156
Pat Hohman 78-79--157
Tyler Hawk 81-81--162
Don Baldassare 79-84--163

9. University of Central Oklahoma 323-306--629
Matthew Vogel 80-72--152
Justin Watkins 77-76--153
Brandon Stewart 82-79--161
Adam Miller 84-79--163
Rhett Bouvia 90-86--176

10. Florida Gulf Coast University 318-312--630
Jimmy Othus 74-73--147
Steven Burleson 77-79--156
James Paige 83-82--165
Marius Schweiger 84-84--168
Mike Leone 90-78--168

11. University of Nebraska 312-319--631
Derek Francios 76-81--157
Andrew Adamsick 81-77--158
John Erickson 81-77--158
Alex Beach 74-86--160
Sam Jonell 85-84--169

12. Campbell University 321-312--633
Robert Bose 77-73--150
Daniel Soehren 81-77--158
Brian Joyner 82-80--162
Charles Gross 81-83--164
Jared Morrow 85-82--167

13. Eastern Kentucky University 323-313--636
Trey Scott 74-80--154
Hank Whalen 84-74--158
Logan Duderstadt 85-76--161
Sean O'Daniel 80-83--163
Brett Roberts 91-84--175

14. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs 321-318--639
Zach Brehm 85-73--158
Travis Gruenenwald 80-81--161
Eric Emmel 79-83--162
Russell Einspahr 77-87--164
Earl Gerlach 94-81--175

15. Sam Houston State University 325-319--644
Austin Anderson 79-76--155
Kyle Emerson 78-79--157
Michael Skiba 82-84--166
Quinn Kauffman 86-81--167
Scott Archer 86-83--169

16. Penn State University 332-315--647
Erick Pringle 79-80--159
Adam Parisi 85-77--162
Andrew Hardin 80-85--165
Tyler Ferratti 89-76--165
Daniel Marz 88-82--170

17. Ferris State University 322-326--648
Zachary Ebnet 75-79--154
Chris Clifton 80-85--165
Stephen Peurach 85-80--165
Jordan Mathers 82-84--166
Michael Dolan 85-83--168

18. University of Idaho 333-319--652
Nathan Ferrell 81-79--160
Cody Peters 82-79--161
Troy Clark 87-78--165
Loren Jeglum 87-83--170
Matt Montecucco 83-88--171

19. University of Maryland-Eastern Shore 324-333--657
Erik Carlson 77-75--152
Devan Scott 81-84--165
Zach Allen 79-87--166
Greg Raad 87-87--174
Chad Dailey 91-93--184

20. Clemson University 345-321--666
Brett Lascara 86-74--160
Chris Cerven 87-78--165
Evan Shields 82-85--167
Ethan O'Malley 90-84--174
Drew Walters 94-NC--NC