news-record.com

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The Guilford College men's golfers, wearing the initials "JJ" on their shirt sleeves, have returned to competition for the first time since the death of coach Jack Jensen.

The Quakers, ranked third nationally in NCAA Division III, are in Stone Mountain, Ga., competing in the Emory Spring Invitational. Guilford was third Monday after the first round, five strokes behind first-place Greensboro College and one stroke back of top-ranked Methodist on the par-70 Stonemont Course at Stone Mountain Golf Club.

Greensboro's Korky Kemp, a Grimsley High School alumnus who graduated from N.C. State in 1998, is leading the Quakers.

Kemp is on the staff of the College Golf Fellowship, a Christian ministry to college golfers and coaches. Kemp's work had helped him build relationships with some of Guilford's golfers.

"When (athletics director) Tom Palombo asked the students for their feedback and input into who they might want to have accompany them for rest of season, they mentioned Korky's name," said Dave Walters, Guilford's sports information director. "So he's decided to take that on and travel with the team and help it out on the road through the season."

Jensen, a teacher and coach at Guilford, died unexpectedly March 28 after returning with his team from a tournament in Jacksonville. Jensen, who was 71, coached the 1973 Guilford men's basketball team to an NAIA championship. And he coached the golf team to an NAIA national title in 1989 and to Division III championships in 2002 and 2005.

Peter Latimer led Guilford on Monday with a 1-over-par 71 and shared the individual lead with Chris Morris of Centre (Ky.). Latimer shot 38 on the first nine holes of the 6,808-yard layout northeast of Atlanta. The senior finished with a 33 on the back nine to share the top spot with Morris, who shot 32 on the final nine holes to help the Colonels move into fourth place.

The Quakers had a 308 total, with Brian Creghan (78), Dusty Roberts (78), Noah Ratner (81) and J.T. Thomas (81) also on the score sheet.

Greensboro was led Monday by Ben Nihart and Josh Nichols, who were tied for third place at 73. Other scorers for the Pride were Brock Elder (78), Joshua Hudgins (79) and Connor Kennedy (84).

The tournament includes eight teams ranked among the top 25 in the April 7 Golf World/Nike Golf Division III Coaches' Poll, including five of the top eight. Methodist is ranked first, Guilford third, Greensboro fifth and Oglethorpe sixth. Oglethorpe shot 311 on Monday and shares fourth place with 25th-ranked Centre.

After today's final round in Stone Mountain, Guilford will begin play Friday at the 54-hole ODAC tournament in Cape Charles, Va.

Greensboro will return to competition Friday in the 54-hole USA South tournament at Mill Creek Golf Course in Mebane.

The Division III national championship will be May 11-14 in Hershey, Pa.