Division III Golf rankings are starting to shape up

March 27, 2019 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365


Pusch Ridge senior PJ Haynes. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

Division III Golf

 

Seven section winners, plus eight at-large teams, will make up the field for the 2019 Division III state tournament slated to start on May 7 at the Omni Tucson National. In addition, the top 15 individuals not attached to a qualifying team will earn a spot in the tournament for a total of 90 golfers.

Valley Christian (599) won the 2018 state tournament over Yuma Catholic (635) and Desert Christian (650). It was the sixth title for the Trojans and the fifth for the program since 2013. Northwest Christian beat Valley Christian 599 to 604 in 2017.

Individually, Alabama freshman Frankie Capan capped off an excellent high school career by winning his second state championship in a row playing for Northwest Christian. Valley Christian’s James Mackie took home the individual title as a freshman in 2016 and the Cal Baptist commit finished in second place last year. Mackie is currently ranked No. 4 in the state as of March 26.

Scottsdale Prep sophomore Davis Johnson is the top-ranked golfer with only two rounds in. Johnson finished in sixth place at state last spring. Yuma Catholic junior Alexandria Schmunk is currently ranked No. 2 with four rounds in. Schmunk took third at state last year.

Snowflake junior TJ Davis is ranked third and he took 17th last year.

Currently, Valley Christian is the top-ranked team, Snowflake is second and Thatcher is third. The section leaders are Snowflake (I), Yuma Catholic (II), Thatcher (III), Fountain Hills (IV), Northland Prep (V), Valley Christian (VI) and Pusch Ridge (VII).

The current at-large teams are Arizona College Prep, Scottsdale Prep, Phoenix Country Day, Arete Prep, Blue Ridge, Arizona Lutheran, Scottsdale Christian and Bisbee. Rankings can change daily. The current cut line for the individual qualifiers is about 9.9 on the IWR scale.