SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. - He started the tournament with a birdie. He ended the tournament with a birdie. In between, Georgia Southwestern golfer J.P. Griffin continued to play some terrific golf at the three-round, three-day NCAA Division II National Championships. Griffin finished at 4-under par and tied for ninth place in the 108-player field.
In Thursday's final round, Griffin shot a 1-under 71. He racked up four birdies to go with a trio of bogeys.
Josh Creel from Central Oklahoma defeated Jim Knous from Colorado Schools of Mines in a playoff to claim the 2012 NCAA Division II individual national championship. Creel posted a par on the 18th hole in the playoff to obtain the title. Both men had a 10-under heading into the playoff. Ben Taylor from Nova Southeastern finished two strokes back at 8-under to take third place.
Griffin was tied for 23rd place after Round 1 on Tuesday after shooting even par, but jumped 15 spots thanks to a six-birdie, three-bogey round on Wednesday to enter the final day tied for eighth.
The Glennville native birdied nine different holes on the 7,092-yard par 72 Cardinal Club Golf Course. He played particularly well on holes 1, 9, 10, 12 & 17 where he was a combined 10-under. Holes No. 11 and No. 18 were the equalizers. He finished a combined 6-over on those two holes.
Griffin was one of eight individuals in the country to qualify for an at-large invitation to the national championships. Griffin finished with the lowest score of those qualifiers.
Here's a look at Griffin's scorecards from the tournament:
| Round 3 | Start hole: 10 Course: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| hole distance |
1 423 |
2 366 |
3 206 |
4 617 |
5 413 |
6 316 |
7 452 |
8 166 |
9 530 |
out 3489 |
10 353 |
11 430 |
12 233 |
13 558 |
14 439 |
15 407 |
16 205 |
17 508 |
18 470 |
in 3603 |
total 7092 |
| par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| score | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 71 |
| +/- par | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | E | E | -1 | E | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Round 2 | Start hole: 10 Course: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| hole distance |
1 423 |
2 366 |
3 206 |
4 617 |
5 413 |
6 316 |
7 452 |
8 166 |
9 530 |
out 3489 |
10 353 |
11 430 |
12 233 |
13 558 |
14 439 |
15 407 |
16 205 |
17 508 |
18 470 |
in 3603 |
total 7092 |
| par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| score | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 69 |
| +/- par | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -3 | -2 | E | +1 | E | E | -1 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -3 |
| Round 1 | Start hole: 1 Course: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| hole distance |
1 423 |
2 366 |
3 206 |
4 617 |
5 413 |
6 316 |
7 452 |
8 166 |
9 530 |
out 3489 |
10 353 |
11 430 |
12 233 |
13 558 |
14 439 |
15 407 |
16 205 |
17 508 |
18 470 |
in 3603 |
total 7092 |
| par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| score | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 34 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 72 |
| +/- par | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -3 | -1 | -1 | -1 | E | E | E | -1 | E | +2 | E |