Millington, Tenn. – Junior Richard Polan (Brno, Czech Republic) earned the first individual victory of his career on Monday as he fired a 2-under par 214 to help the Gents finish fourth at the 2022 Rhodes Spring Classic at the par-72, 6,987-yard Mirimichi Golf Club.
Final Results: https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=23691
Polan, who held the individual lead after Sunday's first two rounds by two shots, was the only golfer to finish under par for the tournament as he wound up five shots ahead of runner-up Trey Schneider of Dallas (3-over par 219). He now owns five-career top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes.
Polan has now earned at least a top-20 finish in nine of his last 10 tournaments. He shot a 1-over 73 in round one, a 4-under 68 (one shy of career-low round) in round two, and a 1-over 73 in Monday's final round.
The Gents finished at 44-over par 908 for the tournament after shooting a 16-over par 304 in Monday's final round. Centenary shot a 15-over par 303 in round one followed by a 13-over 301 in round two. Host Rhodes College won the tournament at 26-over par 890, finishing eight shots ahead of John A. Logan College (34-over par 898). LeTourneau finished third at 42-over par 906, and Dallas finished fifth at 48-over par 912, four shots behind the Gents.
Centre College finished sixth (58-over par 922), Hendrix finished seventh (69-over par 933), Millsaps was eighth (74-over par 938), the Rhodes "B" team finished ninth at 75-over par 939, Belhaven finished 10th (94-over par 958), and Brescia University finished 11th (96-over par 960).
Sophomore Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.) earned the best finish of his career as he shot a 6-over par 222 to place fourth. It is Bennett's second top-10 finish of his young career after he tied for ninth at the 2022 Pinecrest Invitational last month. He now has three top-20 finishes this season. Sophomore Ricky Blair (Bossier City, La.) tied for 16th place at 13-over par 229 to earn his fourth-career top-20 finish.
Senior Harrison John (Lafayette, La.) tied for 53rd place at 29-over par 245, junior Devan Martin (Watson, La.) finished 64th at 46-over par 262, and freshman Tyler Jones (Stonewall, La.) finished 65th at 54-over par 270.
Polan becomes the first Centenary men's golfer since former teammate Reed Balcerowicz won the individual title at the Pinecrest Intercollegiate in March of 2020, interestingly an event where Polan has thrived during his career, most recently earning a runner-up finish last month. He tied for the individual lead and fell in a playoff at the tournament last season after a third-place finish as a freshman.
Next up for the Gents is the annual Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships set for April 18-19 at Vaaler Creek Golf Course in Blanco, Texas.
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mgolf/2021-22/schedule
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