Sean Elliott earns bragging rights over coach in North Georgia Invitational washout

DALTON, Ga. -- One calendar year will pass before Dalton State College men's golf coach Ben Rickett has a chance to earn bragging rights over his top Roadrunner.

Sean Elliott, who recently won the NAIA national championship by a record eight strokes, earned medalist honors at the North Georgia Invitational on Sunday after tournament officials canceled the final round of the championship flights at Dalton Golf and Country Club because of inclement weather.

"I have all the bragging rights over Coach," said Elliott, who was a sophomore this past season. "A washout wasn't the way I wanted, and it would have been fun to tee it up against him and (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Brooks Thomas).

"I'll be letting Coach hear about it until the next NGI."

Elliott shot a 6-under-par 66 with eight birdies during his Saturday round. Thomas shot a 67 and tied with Rickett, who made double bogey on his 16th hole of the day.

"I knew going into the weekend that Sean is one of the hottest golfers in the area right now, and he's continued the form that he's shown since Christmas," Rickett said. "I think I would have been fighting an uphill battle going against him and Brooks, but it would have been a nice little showdown."

Neil Spitalny won the senior division with a 36-hole score of 8-under 136, including a 69 on Sunday morning. Richard Keene finished runner-up at 146, and Jay Childs placed third at 147.

"They tried everything they could, including thinking about a shotgun start, but one big cell after another just kept appearing," Rickett said. "Daylight hours were against us, and if we weren't off by 4:30, we weren't going to get in 18 anyways, so they called it."

Thomas, a sophomore this past season, has finished runner-up in two straight Chattanooga TPC events. In addition to the NGI, he was second at the Signal Mountain Invitational, where he lost when his opponent made birdie on the fifth sudden-death playoff hole.

"It stinks, but there's nothing you can do about it," Thomas said. "It would be easy to get mad, but it's just unlucky. I know the three of us would have had an awesome round today."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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