Palm Beach Gardens Fla. – The Fayetteville State University golf team may have finished 16th at the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championships but will return to campus with an unforgettable experience that will enhance the program for years to come.

This was the Broncos first trip back to the National Championships since 2009. Head Coach John Cole narrowly missed qualifying as an individual for the DII Nationals his freshman year at Fayetteville State in 2011.

"The opportunity to give these guys something I never got to do is pretty special," said Coach Cole before the Nationals. "Golf [at Fayetteville State] has always been a winning program and we want to get back to it."

"To actually get here and get into this competition setting is a whole different story. It's a step in the right direction for this program. "

Fayetteville State earned an at-large bid to Regional play after participating in a diminished four tournaments from March 12 through April 19 due to the pandemic. Ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region, the Broncos played through the weather in North East, Pennsylvania to finish fourth overall in the East/Atlantic Regional Championships for a spot in the National Championships.

"It's a major impact because as a program, we don't want to stay stagnant. To be able to accomplish this without a conference championship and to simply be one of the best teams in the region and earn our spot to play on this level, gave us gratification."

The team did not fare as well as expected in the first round with everyone scoring above an 80 on the Par 72 Champion Course. The Broncos ranked 15th overall with a combined score of 330. Logan Sessoms and Brandon Jones led with an 81. Logan Patrick followed with an 82 scorecard.

Jones improved on his play in the second round with a 79-card while Sessoms maintained another 81. The team dropped a position with an extra seven strokes (337) added to its first day's score.

The final round of stroke play resulted in a team total of 338 for a grand total of 1,005 strokes. Sessoms ranked 60th overall with a three-round total of 244 (81, 81, 82). Jones and Patrick were tied at 73 with a 252 score. Jones shot a 92 on his last round as Patrick had rounds of 82, 89, and 81. 

Shaun Wixson was 78th with a 259 (86, 88, 85) and Zack Martin finished in a tie for 83rd after shooting 88, 89, and 90 (267 total).