Oakes claims spot on GCAA All-America Team

NORMAN, Okla. – The second, third and honorable mention 2024 Division III PING All-America Teams were announced Friday by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Among those earning an honorable mention was Kenyon College first-year Jonathan Oakes.

Making an immediate impact on the Kenyon team this past season, Oakes led the Owls with a 72.80 scoring average, a mark that went down in the books as a program single-season record. He had six top-10 finishes and two top-5 finishes in 12 events played.

Oakes played well during the Owls' fall season, but he took things to the next level during the spring, which started with him posting a three-round score of five-under-par and finishing in ninth place among 95 golfers in the Savannah Invitational. In the second round of that Invitational, Oakes fired a personal, season-low score of six-under-par 66.

From there, the Owls played in seven more events and Oakes never finished outside the top 20. As the season wore on, he recorded a second-place finish, a third-place finish and two sixth-place finishes in four of the team's last five tournaments.

At the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship, Oakes put up a three-round score of three-over-par and claimed 13th place in the field of 40. He was named an All-NCAC honoree and was also voted the NCAC Newcomer of the Year.

Kenyon won the NCAC Championship and moved on to the NCAA Division III Championship, where Oakes saved his best for last. Undaunted by the big stage, Oakes whipped up a score of 282, which was six-under-par and a program record for a four-round tournament. His effort placed him in an individual tie for sixth place among the 221 NCAA golfers and boosted the Owls, as a team, to a tie for eighth place, the best NCAA finish in program history.

The GCAA's All-America first team was announced shortly after the NCAA Championship. Both the second- and third-team selections feature eight golfers, while 22 were tabbed honorable mentions.

With Friday's announcement, Oakes became the fourth All-American in the Kenyon men's golf program's history and the first since Armand Ouellette, now a rising senior, was named an honorable mention in the 2021-22 season.

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Players Mentioned

Armand Ouellette: Junior

Jonathan Oakes: First-Year

Players Mentioned

Armand Ouellette
: Junior

Jonathan Oakes
: First-Year