WORCESTER, Mass. (April 28, 2025) – Western New England men's golf first-year Derek Johnson set a new program record on Monday afternoon in the final spring event of the year at Tatnuck Country Club, coming in with a 66 overall, four strokes under par, breaking a 20-year old record in the program that stood since 2005. 

How it Happened:

Derek Johnson and the Golden Bears earned their fourth win in five spring events this season, locking up this event with the top two finishes overall and all four counting scores within the top-15 overall out of 54 golfers. Johnson led Western New England with three birdies on the front nine, finishing one stroke under par following the first nine holes. Johnson only got better as the afternoon went on, coming in with three birdies and six pars on the back nine to round out his score with a 66 overall for the day, four strokes under par. His 66 breaks a 20-year-old record that saw former Golden Bear EJ Czajkowski shoot a 68 overall at the Skidmore Invitational in 2005. He is the first Golden Bear to hit in the 60s since 2019 when Ryan Zogby struck a 69 at the Duke Nelson Invitational. 

Coming in second place in the event was Alex Noti, who also performed at record pace, coming up with a season low 71 overall on the year. Noti opened the first two holes with two bogeys but quickly bounced back for three birdies and would finish even overall after the front nine. Noti would then cruise to par play, picking up eight straight pars for WNE before bogeying the 18^th hole to finish +1 for the back nine and shot one stroke over par for the event, coming up with a second-place finish. 

Kyle Kilmas also impressed for Western New England in the event. Kilmas notched two birdies on the front nine and finished tied with the best score after nine holes on the team with a 34, one stroke under par. Kilmas would finish the round with a 74 overall, his second-best score of the spring after picking up a 72 at the WNEU Invite this past weekend. Kilmas picked up a sixth-place finish overall at today's event. 

Kyle DeGroff rounded out the four-counting scores for the blue and gold on Monday afternoon, coming up with a 77 overall. DeGroff would shoot 40 overall on the front nine for Western New England would finishing three strokes less for the blue and gold on the back nine, coming up with a +7 overall for the day. DeGroff would pick up a 14^th-place finish in the event while his 77 was his second-best score of the season.

Jeremy Burke rounded out the five Golden Bears participating on Monday, shooting a near-even score on the front nine and back nine, totaling an 81 overall for the event. Burke picked up two birdies on the front nine and finished up his afternoon with five pars on the back nine. The 81 Burke shot on Monday was good for 24^thplace overall for the day, as all five Golden Bears would place in the top half of the event.

The historic day for Western New England was on the final day of the season, as WNE wrapped up their spring campaign with four victories in five tournaments.