UWF's Chandler Blanchet won the Division II men's golf individual national championship on Wednesday.
Call it fate. Call it karma.
Whatever it was, Chandler Blanchet has added his name to a very short list in the University of West Florida record books.
The Argos' junior standout won the Division II men's golf individual national championship on Wednesday at Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, becoming just the second person in school history to accomplish that feat.
"He's had an incredible year and is one of the best I've seen in college golf," said UWF head coach Steve Fell in a press release. "It's just phenomenal what he's done this season. ... To be a national champion you have to be a special player and he is. He’s a different kid and has the mentality and demeanor of a tour pro and it shows out there."
Blanchet joins Orjan Larsen as the only Argos in school history to win the men's golf individual national championship. Larsen won the 1998 title by eight shots.
Trailing by three strokes with three holes to play, Blanchet faced winds that reached nearly 30 miles per hour as he strode up to what would become a decisive 17th hole.
All three players in contention pulled their tee shots wide on the par-5 17, but only Blanchet's managed to stay in bounds. He pared the hole while the other two recorded double bogeys.
Carrying a slim 1-stroke lead — his first of the tournament — into the final hole, Blanchet split the fairway with his drive before hitting an approach shot within 8 feet.
After two more putts, Blanchet's dream was realized.
"It must have been fate," said Blanchet in the release. "I've said that if you win and there's something that happens that you can't explain, you don’t question it. Just be happy that it happened. My ball stayed in bounds and I was able to gain two shots on 17 that gave me the opening to win it."
Blanchet — who currently leads the Golfstat Cup competition, which crowns the nation's top collegiate golfer from NAIA to Division I — shot a 1-under 209 (70-66-73) over three rounds.
His 3-over final round included 14 pars and was enough to edge Florida Southern's John Coultas, who paired an opening round 65 with a final round 76.
After the win, Blanchet received the NCAA individual national championship trophy and the Division II Arnold Palmer National Individual Champion Award and was named a First Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
The junior rallied after a slow start to the tournament. His opening round 70 necessitated a big second day and Blanchet responded with a 66, Tuesday's low round.
He entered Wednesday trailing by two shots to Coultas, whose brilliant opening round kept him at the top of the leaderboard all week before Blanchet's late move.
No. 1 UWF finished stroke play tied for third overall as a team. The Argos will face the sixth-seeded Newberry in match play quarterfinals beginning at 7:20 a.m. Thursday.
The top eight finishers from the opening three rounds of stroke play advanced to the match play portion of the competition.
Barry finished first after stroke play, shooting a 298 in the third round for a 850 total. Florida Southern was second with a 853 total, one shot ahead of UWF. Lynn's 290 — the second-best of the day — moved them into fourth with an 866 total.