Ohio Wesleyan to Host Gordin Classic
Kaneat Nimcharoenwan ’15. (Photo by Rachael Carter ’16)
Ohio Wesleyan University will play host to one of the nation’s most prestigious NCAA Division III men’s golf tournaments on Monday and Tuesday, Sept.30-Oct. 1, when the Battling Bishops host the Gordin Classic at Columbus Country Club, at 4831 East Broad Street in Columbus.
The tournament will consist of 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday.
Hosted by Ohio Wesleyan since 1991, the Gordin Classic annually matches 12 of the best NCAA Division III teams, featuring most if not all of the top 10 finishers from the previous spring’s NCAA Division III championship tournament. Conceived as the opening tournament of the spring, the Gordin Classic moved to the fall in 1995 and was the final tournament of the calendar year for several years before moving to an earlier slot for the 2011-12 season.
Columbus Country Club is the oldest golf club in central Ohio. The Donald Ross-designed course was the site of the 1964 PGA championship.
The Gordin Classic field includes 5 of the top 10 teams in last spring’s NCAA Division III tournament, headlined by Transylvania (Ky.), the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Division III runner-up; Methodist (N.C.), which finished third in the nation in both 2012 and 2013; and Emory (Ga.), which finished fourth nationally last spring.
Illinois Wesleyan and St. John Fisher (N.Y.), which tied for ninth place nationally, also will be competing.
Joining those teams will be 4 teams that placed in the top 15 in last spring’s NCAA Division III tournament in Greensboro (N.C.), Central (Iowa), Wittenberg, and Southwestern (Texas), along with 2 additional NCAA tournament teams in Guilford (N.C.) and Otterbein.
Wittenberg is the defending Gordin Classic champion after finishing 2 shots ahead of Methodist in last fall’s event.
The tournament is named after longtime Ohio Wesleyan coach Dick Gordin. Gordin, who served as the Bishops’ golf coach from 1955-93, guided 22 of his last 25 teams to the NCAA Division III or College Division tournaments, bringing home 6 top-5 finishes in his last 8 years, including runner-up finishes in 1990 and 1993 and thirds in 1989 and 1991. Ohio Wesleyan won a total of 12 league titles in 5 different decades under Gordin. His teams won 7 Ohio Athletic Conference championships and 5 North Coast Athletic Conference crowns. Gordin was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1993.