April 2, 2009 — As the college golf season heats up this spring, Morgan Hoffmann of Arcola Country Club and Nannette Hill of Pelham Country     Club are among a number of Met Area collegiate players playing big roles on their Division I golf teams (“School’s In”, The Met Golfer, June/July 2008).  Hoffmann, a freshman at No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State University, finished first at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas on March 31. Hill, a senior at seventh-ranked Wake Forest University, fired a school record, 54-hole total of 210 to finish in third place at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic in Baton Rouge, La.

Hoffmann also recorded top finishes at other events in March, including a tie for second place at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship in Las Vegas on March 15. Hoffmann’s school-record 62 in the second round propelled the Cowboys to a second-place finish in the event. He finished tied for 21st one week later at the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga. Hoffmann also lost in a playoff and finished second at the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational in February in Sea Island, Ga.

Two of last year’s MGA champions compete for Penn State University and played well in the first event of March. Reigning Ike champion Kevin Foley of Neshanic Valley Golf Course finished tied for eighth at the Pinehurst Invitational on March 17 in Pinehurst, N.C. Tommy McDonagh, the two-time Met Amateur champion from Shorehaven Golf Club, finished tied for 14th at the event.

Duke University senior Michael Quagliano, the 2003 Met Junior champion from GlenArbor Golf Club, won his match in the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship to help the Blue Devils defeat the University of Louisville on March 24.

Also making headlines this season on the college circuit is University of Illinois sophomore Chris DeForest. DeForest helped the Illini to victories at both the Spring Break Invitational and the Marshall Invitational, finishing tied for 4th in both events. 

Make sure to check www.mgagolf.org this spring for updates on college golf and for scores and news from golf across the Met Area.