Kenyon logs top ten finish at NCAA Fall Preview

9/23/2025 5:26:00 PM

Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. – For the second week in a row, the No. 10 Kenyon College men's golf team teed it up in a tournament amongst the best competition in NCAA Division III, this time participating in the NCAA Fall Preview at Mission Inn Resort.

The Owls climbed as high as first place after day one, posting the program's lowest 18-hole stroke count (278) and tying its program best in relation to par (-6). Although the team couldn't finish atop the 24-team leaderboard after 54 holes, a ninth place finish marks back-to-back top tens to start 2025.

Just as he did in the opener, Jonathan Oakes paced the Kenyon squad, finishing the tournament at one-under par and tied for eleventh on the individual leaderboard of 120 golfers. Coming off of a North Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week award, Oakes opened the tournament with a steady 35 at Mission Inn's Las Colinas course. The back nine is where he really caught fire; after a bogey on the 10th hole, he came back with birdies on 14 and 15, an eagle on the 299-yard par four 17th hole and a birdie on 18 to finish at four-under par (67).

In the next two rounds at the El Campeon course, Oakes carded a 75 (+3) in the second round with two birdies before shooting an even 72 on the final day with two circles and one eagle on the 500-yard par five first hole. For the tournament, he tied for first in par three scoring (-2) tied for sixth in par five scoring (-5) and led the field with two eagles.

Adrian Jordan finished second on the team and posted the second best round of the tournament for the Owls in the opening 18. He started off hot with three birdies on the front nine and finished even par on the back nine with three more birdies for a 69 (-2). He struggled for the opening stretch of the second round, but brought it around with a bridie and an eagle on the back nine to finish at 79. His final 18 holes included two more birdies and a one over 73. His efforts placed him at +6 for the week and tied for 41st individually.

One stroke behind Jordan was sophomore Connor Gray, who finished 54 holes at +7 and 44th on the individual leaderboard. After an opening round 78, Gray bounced back with two solid rounds, carding a 74 and 70 respectively. He made three birdies on the front nine of round two, and added two birdies and an eagle in round three to move to red figures.

Jaiden Koonar finished fourth for Kenyon in the tournament, ending at +11. His best round came in the first 18 holes, where the junior finished at 70 (-1). After a one-over par front nine, he was plus one headed to the final two holes, but hooped a birdie and an eagle back to back to end at one under. He drained four more birdies in the second round, finishing at 78 and ended with three birdies and another 78 in the third.

First-year Andrew Hahn made his debut for the Owls and posted a +14 to round things out for Kenyon. He made three birdies in the opening round to finish at 72 (+1), but struggled in the second round on the way to an 82. He righted the ship to close the tournament with two birdies and a 75.

For the tournament, Kenyon ranked first with five eagles and third in par three average scoring (3.10). The Owls also made 41 birdies, which ranked 10th for the tournament.

Emory took home the title, finishing at two over par, while Methodist (+3) and host Oglethorpe (+4) finished in second and third respectively.

Kenyon's next action will be in Crawfordsville, Indiana for the Wabash Invitational. The 54 hole tournament will take place on October 6-7 from Broadmoor Country Club.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories