The Oakland City University men's golf team came into the 2017 season with high expectations. After losing just one top five player from the previous year, the Mighty Oaks were well positioned to make another run at an appearance at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship.
Their goal of reaching a second consecutive national appearance required a strong finish at the Mid-East Regional Tournament, hosted on the Robert Trent Jones Fighting Joe Course in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, September 25-26, hosted by Belhaven University. After the opening round, OCU found themselves trailing just one team, Campbellsville University, after a 318 team score. However the CU Tigers held a 14 shot advantage heading into round two, forcing the Oaks to play well, and possible receive some help, in order to contend for the regional title and accompanying automatic national tournament bid.
The Oaks improved their score on day two, shooting 316, but the Tigers posted an impressive 289 to take the title. OCU retained their second place position, outlasting Bluefield College (333, 327), followed by Hiwassee College (343, 334), Belhaven (366, 325), Johnson University (361, 348) and Kentucky Christian University (359, 377). The runner-up finish gave OCU a chance at a an at-large selection for the second year in a row.
Campbellsville's Justin Warman took the medalist honors, shooting rounds of 72 and 70, finishing with a two-under par total for the two days. Warman finished three shots ahead of teammate Owen Workman (74, 71), followed by Belhaven's Tyler Schingle (75, 76). Campbellsville's Austin Mahoney (81, 73) took fourth place, while CU's BJ Knox (80, 75) and Tyler Harrod (78, 77) joined OCU's
Mitch Frederick (77, 78) in a tie for fifth place.
Luke Taylor (77, 79) ended in a tie for eighth place, while
Nick Virden (78, 80) took tenth.
Brandon Long (86, 79) finished in 12th, followed by
Steven Lawson (88, 79) who tied for 13th, and
Joseph Hinton (86, 86) who finished in 20th.
After earning one of the at-large bids to nationals, the Mighty Oaks traveled to Hammock Beach Resort, in Palm Coast, Florida, for the 2017 NCCAA National Championship, where 12 teams battled to make the nine-team cut after two days. OCU found themselves in tenth after the opening round, with a team score of 311. Bob Jones University, Southern Wesleyan University and Campbellsville each shot 310, while Central Baptist College and McMurry University both had scores of 306. OCU's
Mitch Frederick led the Oaks with a round of 75, as he ended the day tied for 14th overall.
Steven Lawson and
Brandon Long each posted scores of 78, good for a T33, while
Luke Taylor shot 80 (T44) and
Nick Virden carded a 90 (64).
Taylor paced the Oaks on day two, shooting a 77 and finishing tied for 41st overall, followed by Lawson's 78, tied for 33rd. Frederick ended the day with a round of 80, placing him tied for 28th, followed by Long's 84 (T54) and Virden's 86 (64), for a team score of 319. Unfortunately, their score placed the team in 11th, 11 shots out of making the cut. Campbellsville also failed to make the cut, finishing in 10th place after a second day score of 313. Southwestern Christian University was also cut, finishing in 12th place with rounds of 322 and 315. Colorado Christian University finished the tournament as the national champion team, carding a three-day total of 885, outlasting Dallas Baptist University's 899.
