SILVIS, IL (5/22) – On Friday, Point Loma Nazarene’s Sam Cyr won the individual crown at the 58th Annual NAIA Men’s Golf National Championships. It was the senior’s second consecutive national title. As a team the Sea Lions placed in a tie for 12th.

After two breezy days, the winds calmed down over the final two days and several players and teams took advantage. No one took advantage more so than Cyr. He fired a tournament-best four-under-par 67 on Thursday to move in front of the 151-player field. He then shot a par 71 on Friday for a four-round 282 total, to win his second consecutive national championship.
 
At two under, Cyr was the only player below par for the tournament at the tight TPC @ Deere Run Golf Course. The four-time All-American became the first back-to-back individual champion since Jamie Burns of North Florida won consecutive titles in 1992 and 1993.

Occasional wind gusts over the first two days, along with narrow fairways and greens surrounded by bunkers and water hazards saw nearly the entire field struggle and PLNU was no exception, posting rounds of 310 and 314. The Sea Lions tallied a solid 296 third round score, but went back into the 300s on Friday, carding a 304 for a 88 over  1224 total, 43 shots back of team champions, Oklahoma Christian (1181, +45).

Three shots back was Texas Wesleyan (1185). British Columbia was third (1191), followed by Oklahoma City (1195) and Berry (1201).

Cyr did what he does best over the four-day, 72 hole championship - play steady and sometimes spectacular. After registering 72s in the first two rounds, his 67 took him from third place, five back, to a five-shot lead on Thursday.  His par 71 over the final 18 was enough for him to win by three strokes over Armando Villareal of Texas Wesleyan (285, +1).  Anthony Mitchell of Oklahoma City and Ben Smith of Malone tied for third place with a 288s.

Cyr registered 10 pars and four birdies over the opening 18 holes, but ventured into trouble on a few occasions, including three bogeys and a double bogey on 15. In a stretch of two holes he went from 2-under to one-over.

"The course played a lot tougher than what we gave it credit for," Cyr said Tuesday in his online journal. "There were holes that were playing really tough with the 20mph winds. There were various gusts throughout the day but it stayed consistent with a good breeze. This made it difficult to judge the distances, etc. The boys and I did not play to our potential, but tried our best to fight through."

Cyr put up another 72 in the second round of play on Wednesday for a two-round 144 (+2) total. He was steady throughout, carding 15 pars, one birdie and two bogeys. On Thursday, he was over par just once while making five birdies. 

The wind dying down was a big reason for the improved scores Thursday. There were only 10 rounds of even-par or better through the first two days, while the third day brought 13 such rounds.

"I played really solid today," Cyr said. "I hit every green in regulation and shot 67.  It was not my best day with the putter, but a great day with my irons.  I was very pleased with the progress over the last couple days."

Cyr struggled to open up the front nine on Friday and it temporarily cost him the lead. His one birdie and three bogeys had him two over while Villareal carded three under in his opening nine to pull even atop the leaderboad. The two competitors started on different ends of the course, however, and it was obvious that Cyr began with the tougher nine.

In 2007, Cyr was leading the championship tournament, but lost the lead over the final round. That wouldn’t be the case this year. After a bogey to start the back nine, Cyr went on to close the last eight holes with five pars and three birdies and finish one under for the day. Villareal, meanwhile, did not shoot below par over the final nine and was over once for a 69 total.

The win was the 12th for Cyr during his stellar collegiate career. It was the fourth year that Cyr earned All-American status and the second straight year he earned the Arnold Palmer Award presented by Callaway as the medalist at the NAIA Championship.

Fellow Point Loma Nazarene senior Trent Castro finished the tournament tied in 63rd place with a 72-hole 311 (77-81-74-79, +27). He opened the first round with bogeys on two of the three holes but settled in by making a pair of pars over the opening nine. He was in good shape until his last three holes when he lost six strokes with a bogey, a double bogey and a triple bogey.

Over the next 18 Castro fought to keep even, making pars only half of the time with one birdie. He also had seven bogeys and two doubles. His 74 on Thursday was after a solid round of four pars, three bogeys and one double. Castro’s collegiate career ended with a 77 on Friday after he made eight bogeys and eight pars.

Joel Salmond went into the clubhouse Friday with a 32 over 316 (81-81-77-77), good for a tie in 79th place. The PLNU sophomore had eight pars and 10 bogeys on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he had good holes and staggered on others, making par just once with six birdies, six bogeys and five double bogeys.

During round three, Salmond made nine pars, with two birdies, six bogeys and one double. On Friday he opened the front nine with two bogeys and a par but stumbled down the stretch, making a triple, a double and a pair of bogeys before closing with a par on nine to finish the tournament.

Marc Machado’s 318 (80-83-78, 77, +34) had him finish tied for 81st. The Sea Lion senior made ten pars but did not make a birdie over the first 18. The front nine was especially tough for Machado who made four bogeys and a double. He was over par twice on the back nine.

In the second round, Machado made nine pars and a birdie but also had four bogeys, two double bogeys and was four over on No. 15. His 78 on Thursday was due to a pair of birdies, seven bogeys and one double. On Friday Machado had four bogeys on the front nine and on the back made two birdies and two bogeys.

The final PLNU competitor, Zack Ponder, placed 89th (83-80-80-8--324, +40). The sophomore made seven pars and a pair of birdies over the opening 18 but also had five double bogeys, three double bogeys and a triple bogey. In round two he had six pars, two birdies and eight bogeys.

Over the next 18 holes Ponder had a pair of double bogeys, six bogeys, nine pars and one birdie. Though he made par 10 times on Friday, Ponder was over par on eight holes, including a triple and a double bogey.

The 2009 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championships was hosted by St. Ambrose University (Iowa) and the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.

 

All-Tournament Team

Sam Cyr – Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)

Armando Villareal – Texas Wesleyan

Ben Smith – Malone

Anthony Michael – Oklahoma City

Cory Renfrew – British Columbia

Fernando Gonzales – Oklahoma Christian

Samuel Del Val – Berry (Ga.)

Justin Lower – Malone

David Sherman – British Columbia

Michael Loppnow – Wayland Baptist (Texas)

Axel Ochoa – Oklahoma Christian

Dusty Drenth – St. Ambrose (Iowa)

Chase Lindsey – Oklahoma Baptist

Colin Nel – Oklahoma City

Craig Gibson – Missouri Valley

Carlos Arenas – Texas Wesleyan