Final Results

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. - George Markham battled back from front-nine adversity to finish in the top 20 as he wrapped up his first trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships at the Shoals Golf Club in Alabama.

Markham tied for 20th at -1 for the week, shooting 76 to go with rounds of 70 and 69 on Monday and Tuesday. His finish marks the second-best by an Oredigger at nationals after Jim Knous' runner-up showing in 2012, and he joins Knous as the only other Mines golfer to finish under par at the national tournament.

A tough four-hole stretch on the front nine took Markham out of his sixth-place spot he occupied after Tuesday. After starting par-par-birdie to temporarily move into the top five, Markham went seven-over in a four-hole stretch to drop out of the top 25 altogether and shoot 42 going out. He steadied the ship with seven straight pars around the turn, however, before birdying 15 and 17 to get a couple of strokes back and earn his way back into the top 20 with a 76.

Florida Southern's John VanDerLaan won the national individual title at -17 by four strokes over Barry's Jorge Garcia, carding a 65 on Wednesday. Saint Leo's Oliver Lilliedahl (-12) was third.

In the team race, the final eight teams in the standings will move on to Thursday's medal match play quarterfinals. Florida Southern earned the top seed at -24, with Barry, Lynn, and West Florida rounding out the top four joined by UIndy, Arkansas Tech, Saint Leo, and Lincoln Memorial behind them.

The NCAA Championships wrap up a superb junior campaign for Markham, who became the first individual at-large selection in program history to the national tournament after he won the NCAA West/South Central Regional on May 9. He was also the RMAC runner-up and had top-20 finishes at the WNMU Fall Intercollegiate (T18), RMAC Fall Event (T5), Bay Area Invitational (T15), Bob Writz Invitational (T11), and the Southern Colorado Masters (T14). Markham averaged a team-low 72.21 strokes per round in 2017-18.