Brandt helps Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s golf team reel in title
Johnny Brandt and his teammates on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s golf program had sunny dispositions while standing in the rain posing for pictures.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps enjoyed its finest moment May 13, when it captured its first NCAA Division III championship Midvale Country Club in Penfield, N.Y. With that, Brandt and the Stags raised the championship plaque.
It’s a moment Brandt, a former standout at St. Francis High, hasn’t forgotten.
“It’s a very exciting moment and something I’ve never been a part of,” said Brandt, a former All-Area selection. “Just being there and taking pictures showed how we were able to pull together throughout the season and we believed we had a chance at winning a championship.”
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps led wire to wire to win the 41-team event that occurred May 10-13. The Stags finished with a 50-over-par 1,198. The Stags topped Huntington College by six strokes. The tournament was played at Midvale and Mendon clubs.
Third-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Assn. crown, carded a 286 to hold an 11-stroke lead after the first round. The Stags then fired a 299 and saw their lead shrink to nine strokes. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps had a 303 in the third round and had its lead dwindle to seven strokes over Ottebein University. In the final round, it registered a 310.
Brandt, a sophomore, finished the tournament tied for 55th at 25-over-312. He recorded 75s during the second and third rounds.
“The course was very tough,” Brandt said. “The greens were firm and very fast and it’s a big test playing that course.
“I just had to go out there and grind. With our team, the key was not really having any bad rounds. We stayed strong.”
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 15th-year Coach Bim Jollymour said the Stags had a couple of practice rounds at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga prior to the tournament.
Jollymour said the course is similar to Midvale.
“Going to Red Hill turned out to be one of the best things,” said Jollymour, who guided the Stags to their 11th straight conference championship. “You could get a better idea of what you’d be up against at Midvale.
“We felt good about our chances going into the championship. We had shot a 14-under in the last round of our conference final and we got some momentum from that.”
