FSU’s Cole Wins PGA Minority DII Championship Broncos’ top player caps brilliant season with satisfying victory at storied tournament
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ayetteville State’s John Cole saved his best for last. In his last tournament of his first year as a collegiate golfer, Cole fired his best round of the weekend in the final round, a 1-under-par 71 to capture the medalist championship at the PGA Minority Division-II Golf Championship in June. “This is icing on the cake,” said a satisfied Cole, who won for the fourth time in his first season with the Broncos. Cole, a freshman from Fayetteville, shot the best round of the day on one of the toughest scoring days of the threeday tournament on the PGA’s Wanamaker Course, winning the championship by four shots over Winston-Salem State’s Glendon Mabe, who shot 72 on Sunday. Cole, who finished with a three-day total of 4-over-par 220, closes the year with top-10 finishes in nine tournaments and seven top-5 finishes. He is the first Broncos’ player to win the PGA Minority title since Joel “Chip” Lynn in 2009. “This was definitely one of the best years I’ve ever had in golf,” Cole said. But the final win of the season may not have happened had Cole not taken a hard look at himself on Saturday night. After a 4-over 76 in the second round trimmed his lead down to a single stroke, Cole sat up late at night in his hotel room, mapping out a strategy for the final round. “I sat down and wrote out a game plan on how I would play each hole,” Cole said. “I think that really helped. Then I had a good range session (Sunday) morning, and I started the round with a lot of confidence.” Cole admitted that just missing out on an automatic berth into next week’s NCAA National Championship following his standout play in the regional led to some lingering frustration over the first two days at the PGA. “I made a double bogey on the second hole in the second round, and I really let that get to me. I think that’s why I had a higher round on Saturday,” said Cole, who is an alternate for the NCAAs after finishing in a tie for seventh as an individual at the regional. “I was still frustrated over not making nationals, and I let it bother me, which I don’t normally do. I felt like I was trying to make it about scores rather than focusing on one shot at a time. I was a little off-focus. (Sunday), I did a much better job concentrating.” And it was a brilliant finish to a whirlwind week for Cole, who endured 17 hours on the road following his play at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional in Hershey, PA, on Wednesday and arriving in Florida on Thursday. The Broncos finished their final tournament of the season in fifth place after a three-day aggregate score of 965. Fayetteville State enjoyed its best day as a team on Sunday, shooting 316. Lincoln Jackson (Jr., Southern Pines, NC) finished as the Broncos’ second-best golfer after an 85 on Sunday for a three-day total of 238. Willie
McClure (Jr., Fayetteville, NC) capped a solid weekend with a final-round 81 to finish as the Broncos’ third-best golfer after a three-day total of 239. Mike Wallace (Jr., Fayetteville, NC) capped his season with a solid 79 for a 269 total while Antonio Mayo finished at 289 after his weekend-best 93. Virginia State won the team event after a 305 on Sunday for a 927 total. Lincoln, of Jefferson City, MO, was second at 934 while Winston-Salem State (950) was third. Celebrating its 25th year, the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship presented by Brown Capital Management originated in November 1986 following the Jackson State University Golf Tournament and has elevated golf in minority colleges and universities by providing opportunities to more players to compete in a national championship. The 1986 organizational meeting brought together a significant group of founders: the late Dr. Herschel Cochrane, Dr. Joe D. Saunders of the National Negro Golf Association; Jackson State University Golf Coach Eddie Payton; Rose HarperElder of the Sports Management Institute; and William (Bill) Dickey, founder of the Bill Dickey Scholarship Association and recipient of the 1999 PGA Distinguished Service Award. The founders’ goal was to provide a national stage for players from minority colleges and universities after being denied opportunities to compete in NCAA Collegiate golf events. The inaugural Championship was conducted in the spring of 1987 at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1998, PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., has been host to the Championship, and in 2006, The PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management of the Championship by the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund. Fayetteville State has a storied history at the tournament, winning it four straight times from 2006-09 and six times since 1992.
Spring/Summer 2011
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