Led by medalist Lucas Artigliere (’22), the Drew University men’s golf team captured its first-ever Landmark Conference title after shooting a 315 in the second and final round on Saturday, April 16 at Woodholme Country Club.
The Rangers were in third place entering the day, trailing Catholic University by four strokes. However, they shot six strokes better than any other team on Saturday and finished with a final score of 640, beating out runner-up University of Scranton by five strokes. Four of the team’s five golfers shot a lower score on Saturday than they did in the opening round.
With its victory, Drew received an automatic bid in the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held May 10-12 at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. It will mark the first time in its five years of existence as a varsity program that the Rangers will compete at the national tournament.
Artigliere’s individual title was the second of his career, as he also won it during his freshman campaign in 2019. The senior becomes the first-ever men’s golfer to win multiple Landmark Conference titles since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2017-18.
By virtue of his victory, Artigliere was also named the Landmark Conference Men’s Golf Player of the Year for the second time. He also captured his second First-Team All-Landmark Conference honor for placing among the top-six. Additionally, Brandon Talaska (’22) who tied for ninth and Mike Ford (’25) who tied for 12th earned a spot on the all-conference second team for their top-12 showing.
Drew Head Coach John Manos was selected as the Landmark Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Rangers from a last-place finish at last season’s championship to conference champions a year later.
Artigliere entered Saturday tied for sixth place after shooting an 80 in the opening round. However, he stormed back in the final round by shooting a 1-over-par 74 – the top score for any player on Saturday – on the strength of one eagle, two birdies, and 10 pars. Battling windy conditions the entire weekend, he finished with a 36-hole score of 154, beating out Moravian’s TJ Bohl and Catholic’s Jack Walsh by three strokes.
“Lucas earned the title this weekend,” said Manos. “His first nine holes were nowhere near his standards. He put his head down and didn’t give up. His last 27 holes were unbelievable and showed what he’s truly capable of.”
Talaska was Drew’s second finisher, tying for ninth in the field of 40. He sliced three strokes off his opening round score and birdied one hole to finish with an 80 on Saturday, posting a final score of 163.
Ford also stepped up in the clutch, firing a 78 – eight strokes better than his first-round score – to finish with a 164. He parred 13 of his 18 holes on Saturday.
Rounding out the team scoring was Myles Cherry (’24). He was overall leader after shooting a 77 in the opening round and carded a 90 on Saturday to finish with a 167, tying him for 20th place.
Matvey Pangan (’24) also competed and tied for 23rd with a 168, taking two strokes off his opening-round score with an 83 on Saturday.
The championship continues an outstanding season for the Rangers, who tied the team record for 18 holes (294) and broke the program mark for 36 holes (592) back on April 2-3 at the Kiln Intercollegiate. They have averaged a 318 for the season and have broken the top-five in seven of their 10 events.
“I could not be more happy for the guys,” said Manos. “This has been the goal since day one and they worked hard the whole year. They never gave up this weekend and grinded until the last putt dropped.”
