Broadhurst earns second DII PING All-American accolade
Published 2:45 pm Thursday, June 21, 2018
NORMAN, Okla. — Lincoln Memorial University junior golfer Sam Broadhurst has been named to the Division II PING All-America second team, it was announced by Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) officials.
Broadhurst was one of 24 golfers in the country to earn either first-, second-, or third-team All-American status.
It marks the second straight All-American accolade for Broadhurst, who became the first-ever LMU men’s golfer to receive All-America honors with a selection to the third team last season.
In his one season that he was not selected as an All-American, he was the SAC Freshman of the Year as well as a semifinalist for the 2016 Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award.
A native of Nuneaton, England, Broadhurst, who also earned Division II PING All-Southeast Region and All-South Atlantic Conference distinctions for the 2017-18 campaign, powered the most triumphant season in the history of the LMU men’s golf program.
With Broadhurst leading the charge, the Railsplitters finished fifth in the Southeast Regional to advance to the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship for the first time in program history.
After three rounds of stroke play competition, Lincoln Memorial qualified for the match play segment of the championship with an eighth-place finish. The Railsplitters’ run eventually ended with a 4-0-1 loss to Florida Southern in the national quarterfinals.
Lincoln Memorial posted the lowest four-player scoring average in program history, and Broadhurst led that effort with a 71.89 scoring average, which stands as the second-lowest individual scoring average in program history.
The junior fired 19 rounds of even par or better over the course of 36 total rounds, recorded eight top-10 finishes in 14 events and logged a stunning .853 win-loss percentage.
Broadhurst was sensational from start to finish but reached an entirely different level in postseason play. In the Southeast Regional, which featured a stacked field with 16 of the nation’s top 25 teams, he fired rounds of 71, 66 and 69 to earn sole possession of second place.
In that event, Broadhurst beat out three first team All-Americans – West Florida’s Chandler Blanchet and Henry Westmoreland IV and Florida Southern’s John Coultas.
He was again spectacular in the NCAA Division II Championship, placing fourth in the stroke play competition with rounds of 71, 67 and 68 to fall just seven strokes back of national champion John VanDerLaan of Florida Southern. In that event, he topped six of the seven first team All-Americans that were competing.
In his three seasons at Lincoln Memorial, Broadhurst has likely cemented his legacy as the most accomplished player in program history. He currently boasts the lowest career scoring average (72.25) and the second-highest win-loss percentage (.842) in school history.
In addition to that, Broadhurst has accounted for the two lowest single-season scoring averages in program history with his 71.8 average in 2016-17 and his 71.9 effort in 2017-18.
In 36 career events, Broadhurst has a remarkable 21 top-10 performances and nine top-five efforts.
Broadhurst was one of three South Atlantic Conference athletes to be tabbed with All-American honors, as Newberry’s Carlos Leandro was a second-team selection and Carson-Newman’s Tom Forster was an honorable mention pick.