May 15, 2024 • by Josh Coles
In NJCAA DI men’s golf, it has been the continued good play of Central Alabama Community College. I believe they have won nine times this year, which is an amazing run. From an administrative standpoint, the transition from Spikemark to Scoreboard powered by Clippd in the Spring and all of the issues surrounding a new scoring, ranking and online service has created a challenge for coaches.
However, right now NJCAA golf is in a good place. There are a number of really competitive teams at the top and this season we added more programs than we have before, so NJCAA golf is healthy!
Odessa College has been the number one team all year and will be hard to beat. The defending champions are Indian Hills Community College and they have shown some very good form this Spring. New Mexico Junior College are the hosts and they have been in the top four all year. Lastly, I’d expect Central Alabama Community College to be right up there as well.
Rockwind Community Links will be an excellent venue, especially if the wind gets up
If you look at the top teams, there will be a host of individuals who will be in the mix for medalist honors. However, there are three that stand out for me.
Gaspar Glaudas at Indian Hills Community College is ranked No.1 nationally. He’s won twice this year and has finished outside the top 10 only once in nine tournaments this season. He has been a force to be reckoned with since he arrived at Indian Hills.
Sungyeop Cho at Odessa College has two tournament wins this year including at the Regionals at the end of April. Currently ranked No.2 in the nation, he’s accumulated four top 3 and 12 top-10 finishes this season.
James Baker of Central Alabama Community College is an excellent player. People don’t know how good he really is. He’s currently ranked 18th nationally but has racked up three tournament wins and five top-3 finishes this season. Look out!
Rockwind Community Links will be an excellent venue, providing a good test for the competitors. Should the wind get up, I think the best team will come out on top. If the conditions are calm, we could see a bunched field!
The opportunity to compete. The National Championship is the year-long culmination of all the hard work, preparation and planning for all the teams competing. Everyone there fully deserves that opportunity.