Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College golfers win GCAA championship

Apr. 21—With an invitation to the national tournament already secure, the Golden Stallions of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College added some icing on the cake Monday when they won the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association golf championship at the Twin City Country Club in Tennille.

"Give all the credit to the guys," ABAC coach Larry Byrnes said. "They are hard-working players. It was a windy and cold day plus the course played extremely tough. I am proud of them."

With a score of 624, ABAC finished ahead of Georgia Military College and Andrew College for the title in the 36-hole event.

ABAC's Brock Barber from St. Cloud, Fla., tied for second in the individual standings with rounds of 83 and 72, and ABAC's Ian Arnold from Blackshear wound up fourth in the tournament with rounds of 75 and 80. Both golfers were named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region 17 team.

Byrnes was selected as the NJCAA Region 17 Division II Coach of the Year. He has now guided the Golden Stallions to the national tournament five times since he took the reins of the golf team in 2015. There was no tournament in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Only a week ago, Byrnes' Golden Stallions stormed back from a nine-stroke deficit heading into the final round to win the NJCAA Division II Southeastern District golf tournament at the Village Greens Golf Club in Gramling, S.C.

With that win, the Golden Stallions secured their spot in the 72-hole national tournament which will be held on May 17-21 at the Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind. ABAC finished 10th in the nation on that course in 2019.