Marvelous May

Colorado Christian's Carlson finishes third at NCAA Division II national tourney

By Gary Baines - 05/22/2019

Chase Carlson of Colorado Christian capped a stellar May on Wednesday, one that came close to ending with a national title.

The redshirt junior (pictured) finished third out of a 108-person field on Wednesday in the NCAA Division II nationals in Daniels, W.Va.

The showing comes after winning the NCAA Division II West/South Central title less than two weeks ago, and landing co-medalist honors last week in a U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournament in Westminster.

Carlson, competing only as an individual at nationals, shot a 1-under-par 71 on Wednesday and ended up at 6-under 210. That left him three strokes behind champion Michael VanDerLaan of Florida Southern, who closed with an eight-birdie 66 to earn the national title, and one back of runner-up Jorge Garcia of Barry.

Carlson, a former Washington amateur champion, carded five birdies and four bogeys on Wednesday.

It's the best finish by a local player at the men's DII finals since Cheyenne resident Josh Creel won in 2012, defeating Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous in a playoff.

For scores from the DII nationals, CLICK HERE.