(Chautauqua, N.Y.) Butler County Community College freshman Troy Loughry on Wednesday became the college’s first golfer to be in the top 10 halfway through the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national championship tournament, where the top 18 finishers after Friday’s fourth round become All-Americans.
Loughry shot a 5-over 77 on Wednesday and, with a 150 after 36 holes, is in seventh place.
“New territory after two rounds,” BC3 golf coach Bill Miller said.
The Grove City High School graduate is 5 strokes behind co-leaders Damian Guerrero, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., and Andreas Huber, Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst, N.C.
Huber, the first-day leader, shot a 74 on Wednesday after a first-round 71. Guerrero shot a 70 on Wednesday after a first-round 75.
Loughry was tied for second place Tuesday following a first-round 73.
He was at 7-over after his first 10 holes Wednesday – “Bad swings,” Loughry said. “I was horrendous off the tee” – then finished with a 2-under in his final eight holes.
“So I was able to salvage something from the round,” he said. “Those first 10 holes were just a mental battle.”
"The job is not done. There's a lot of golf left."
The Pioneers’ Liam Kosior on Wednesday cut 3 strokes from his first-round 82. The Neshannock High graduate ended with a 79 on Wednesday and with a two-day 161 moved into a tie for 17th place with Brett Shields, Nassau Community College, Garden City, N.Y.
“Kosior also has a pretty good shot at being an All-American,” Miller said.
BC3 golfers have earned All-American status five times, most recently in 2015, when Stefan Carlsson placed 15th and Thomas Dimun, 16th at Chautauqua.
“The job is not done,” Kosior said. “There’s a lot of golf left.”
BC3’s Jack Mason on Wednesday cut 7 strokes from his first round and ended with an 85, and Tanner Hohmann cut 4 strokes and ended with a 90. Collin Witouski followed a first-round 88 with a 94 on Wednesday.
Mason, a Freeport graduate, has a two-round 177; Witouski, an Eden Christian Academy graduate, a 182 and Hohmann, a Grove City graduate, a 184.
The Pioneers on Wednesday cut 4 strokes from their score Tuesday. BC3 shot a 331 and is in seventh place with a two-day 666.
“In the next two days, we are going to get a 320,” Miller said. “That is the goal that we are going to push for.”
"In the next two days, we are going to get a 320. That is the goal that we are going to push for.”
Only the lowest four scores of each player in each round are tallied in the team standings.
Sandhills Community College, the 2021 NJCAA Division III team champion, shot a 293 Wednesday and remained in first place with a 588 and a 36-stroke lead over DuPage.
The team with the lowest score after four rounds will win the national championship.
