Tag: Golfweek D2 Fall Invitational

Revenge at the Raven: Flagler College wins Golfweek D2 Fall Invitational with authority

“It definitely makes it extra special knowing how we felt to lose last year being so close,” Flagler coach Santiago Cavanagh said.

This time last year, the Flagler College team van was headed east across Florida, from Destin back home to St. Augustine, with the bitter taste of a close call. Santiago Cavanagh’s team loves competing at the Raven Golf Club at Sandestin, but a one-shot loss to Nova Southeastern did not sit well.

On Tuesday, the results swung hard the other way, with Flagler College riding high on a 21-shot victory for that trip back east.

“It definitely makes it extra special knowing how we felt to lose last year being so close,” Cavanagh said. “This is one of our favorite events, we love the golf course, it’s challenging. The whole week is very special. I know how much the girls wanted to win this week.”

In Flagler’s second start of the fall season, the team claimed the Golfweek Division II Fall Invitational title by going 5 over at the Raven Golf Club. The Saints built an eight-shot lead in the first round and never looked back, finishing 21 shots ahead of runner-up Rogers State.

Flagler set a new program record for lowest 54-hole score and also broke the record for lowest round with their final-round 5-under 279.

“The golf course was in great shape, just like it was last year,” Cavanagh said. “The greens were just a little bit softer than last year and so that made it better. But the first days, it was extremely windy. We had about 15 to 20 mph wind both days. Finally, today was a little bit less, probably 8 to 12 so it was a little more manageable. But the golf course is awesome.”

Individually, Stella Jelinek, a sophomore from Germany, finished 54 holes at 4 under to medal by five shots over Lydia Sitorus of Rogers State and Yuliana Yapur of Texas A&M International. Jelinek opened the week with a 2-under 69 but had a tough round on Day 2 and backed up to 74. On Tuesday, she posted her first collegiate bogey-free round, a 5-under 66, and calmly pulled away.

“She wanted to win it really bad. She didn’t have the round she wanted yesterday and she started behind today,” Cavanagh said. “She stayed calm all day. It was a very close fight until the end, she just kept playing her game. When you make five birdies and no bogeys, you’re going to close the gap for sure.”

Flagler's Stella Jelinek (Golfweek photo)
Flagler’s Stella Jelinek

After last year’s close call at the Golfweek event, Flagler rallied to win its home event three weeks later. Last spring, the Saints were second in the Peach Belt Conference Championship and advanced to an NCAA Division II Super Regional, where their season ended.

The start to this season was a little jarring as Flagler arrived at the NCAA D2 South Region Preview at Cleveland Country Club in Cleveland, Tennessee, ready to start a strong fall campaign and finished ninth out of 17 teams.

“We went up there feeling very good and not having the finish you want, it’s like a bucket of cold water,” Cavanagh said.

The disappointing opener motivated his team to come home, work harder and prepare smarter for the next tournament – not a hard task considering how much Cavanagh’s players love this stop on the schedule.

Cavanagh looks down this year’s lineup and likes the mix of experience and new blood he sees. It’s a long, tough road the rest of the year, with Flagler’s own Fall Slam and the Rollins-hosted National Championship Fall Preview – to be played at Orange County National in Orlando, Florida – on tap for later this month.

“We’re going one tournament at a time and I definitely have a team that I’m not surprised when I see these numbers,” he said.

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Fierce freshmen take the reins as Nova Southeastern outduels Flagler at Golfweek D2 Fall Invitational

A pair of freshmen led the way for Nova Southeastern.

There may be no better motto for a South Florida team mid-hurricane season than the one Nova Southeastern head coach Heather Wall is employing in the team van this fall: Control the controllables.

That strikes out weather, of course, but zeroes in on elements like picking smart lines and walking with confidence. The Sharks did all that at the Raven Golf Club in Sandestin, Florida, on their way to winning the Golfweek D2 Fall Invitational on Oct. 4.

Nova Southeastern took an early lead with a round of even-par 284, held that advantage through 36 holes then spent much of the final round bouncing back and forth with Flagler College. Nova won the team title by a one-shot margin at 19 over.

Wall’s small group of seven is a close-knit squad. There isn’t a senior on the team, but a pair of freshmen voices carry weight. In Sandestin, Emma Larsen won the individual title at 1 under while classmate Olivia Gronborg, who tied for second individually, brought in a final-round 4-under 67 that tipped the scales in Nova’s favor.

2022 Golfweek D2 Fall Challenge
Emma Larsen won the individual title at the Golfweek D2 Fall Challenge. (Photo: Golfweek)

Larsen birdies at No. 16 – where she chipped in – and No. 17 – where she made a 20-footer – were key for the Sharks.

“The two new girls have kind of come in, which I was hoping, making a huge impact, kind of setting the pace already for the rest of the team, and everyone has just kind of followed suit,” said Wall.

The Golfweek Fall Challenge was Nova’s first outing this season but came after five qualifying rounds back home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Junior Ellen Andersson finished 90 holes at 7 under and won qualifying by nine shots. She logged a T-20 in Sandestin.

“We’re just trying to really work on what we can control and being decisive and aggressive to our targets – not going for pins, just playing smart golf and making a lot of pars and minimizing the mistakes as much as possible,” Wall said.

Hurricane Ian, which made devastating landfall across the state and sent heavy rain and wind all the way to the East Coast, caused course closures in the days leading up to Nova’s fall debut. Wall leaned on the work that had already gone in.

“Our course has been closed, but before that, we were putting in a lot of really good, hard work and we were just trying to stack conditions in our favor,” she said.

At Flagler, nearly 300 miles north in St. Augustine, Florida, it was much the same story. Head coach Santiago Cavanagh said his players scattered to seek shelter at friends’ houses and even his own home. He wasn’t sure the trip west would be possible until players were able to get to campus Friday, collect their things and get on the road. It was something to be thankful for – in addition to the minimal damage sustained at Flagler.

Given the abnormal lead-up to the event, Cavanagh was proud of the way his team chased Nova. He didn’t want his players to get too ahead of themselves, and even though they clipped the Sharks by two shots in the final round – 288 to 290 – it wasn’t quite enough to erase the lead Nova had taken in the first round.

“It’s a great feeling to be in that position,” he said. “They handled it awesome, my girls. It definitely hurts when you lose by one shot but it’s a lot better to be in contention. There is another event in two more week.”

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