Men's Golf | 2/17/2015 4:41:00 PM

Orange Park, Fla.----Wingate University men's golf graduate student Benedict Gebhardt (Wiesbaden, Germany) won his third tournament in five tries this season Tuesday, taking medalist honors in a play-off at the Spring Kick-Off Intercollegiate. Wingate and Lincoln Memorial co-hosted the third annual event at the Country Club of Orange Park (par 72, 6823 yards). Number 18 Wingate finished fifth in the 11-team field (individual leader board, team standings).
 
Gebhardt defeated West Georgia sophomore Barrett Waters (Dallas, Ga.) on the first play-off hole, the par-four, 404-yard number one. Both players concluded the 54-hole tourney at three-over-par 219. Gebhardt posted a one-under-par 71 Tuesday, while Waters carded a three-under-par 69. Only Carson-Newman junior Nicklaus Kennedy (London, Ontario) shot a lower round (66) than Waters on Tuesday.
 
"Barrett and I faced bad weather and course conditions," Gebhardt says. "We had 30 MPH winds in our faces…and after five hours of rain, the fairways were mostly covered in water. We both ended up short of the green with our approach shots."
 
Both players had tricky putts for par. "I had a four-footer for par and Barrett's putt was a bit longer," Gebhardt says. "After he had to settle for bogey, I was able to play my par. I was extremely happy to get one more win for the Bulldogs."
 
Gebhardt has six career medalist honors. Last fall, Gebhardt won Flagler's Jay Jennison Memorial Golf Tournament. In addition, he tied junior teammate Tyler Stone (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) for first-place at the 15th annual Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate. In his first WU season, Gebhardt won Catawba's Richard Rendleman Invitational, Wingate's 14th annual J. Ralph Hargett Memorial Intercollegiate and the South Atlantic Conference championship tournament.
 
"Overall, I am absolutely happy with how the Spring Kick-Off tournament turned out," Gebhardt says. "My game was a little rusty, which made the first two rounds more difficult. I kept the score together and I got into a solid tournament flow today."
 
After two Monday rounds of 305, Wingate shot a 315 Tuesday to finish at 925. Sophomore Phillip Konnikov (Berlin, Germany) posted a 79 Tuesday to finish at 227. Graduate student Lukas Richter (Frankfurt, Germany) recorded an 83 to finish at 234. Freshman Jarett Stowe (Matthews, N.C.) had a final-round 82 to complete play at 248. Junior Preston Mangum (Charlotte, N.C.) carded an 85 Tuesday for a 54-hole total of 253.
 
Ten schools and 56 student-athletes participated in the third annual Spring Kick-Off Intercollegiate. Number five West Georgia (895) won the team title with number 31 Lincoln Memorial claiming second place (907). Young Harris (915), UNC Pembroke (916) and Wingate round out the SKI top five.
 
This is the third year Wingate has co-hosted the Spring Kick-Off Intercollegiate event with fellow SAC member LMU. The Bulldogs will see several SKI participants Monday and Tuesday, as Wingate will compete in the 2015 Armstrong Pirate Invitational at Savannah Quarters Country Club (par 71, 6897 yards).