Dante Migliore of Mohawk Valley CC celebrates after winning a five-hole playoff to capture the individual title in 2016. He repeated that effort in 2017 when he was the owner of a 6-under-par 282 total, making him only the second player in NJCAA Division III history to claim back-to-back championships. P-J file photo by Scott Kindberg

Jim Riggs was an avid golfer. For more than 50 years, the late Post-Journal sports editor spent his spring, summer and fall weekday mornings, weather permitting, playing the “gentleman’s game” at his beloved Chautauqua Golf Club.

Me?

I haven’t played a round of golf in 30 years.

So I guess I didn’t realize what all the fuss was about when I witnessed Riggs getting prepared to cover the NJCAA Division III National Golf Championship. Every tournament, from 2000 and continuing through 20014, Riggs had his calendar blocked off for the first week in June. That’s when golfers from near and far descended on the Lake Course. For four days, Jim chronicled — through his words and photographs — the successes and challenges of the players/schools as they pursued All-American honors and, ultimately, a national crown.

Then, by 2015 when I took over the assignment, I began to understand why Riggs had always had so much enthusiasm for the event. This week, I will be covering my fifth NJCAA Division III national tournament, which is hosted by Jamestown Community College. Practice rounds for the 86-person field will be held Monday, followed by competitive rounds Tuesday through Friday. Tee times are from 9 a.m. to noon. Team and individual scoresheets will be posted at www.sunyjcc.edu/njcaa.

“If there are golfing enthusiasts who are looking to go out and walk on a beautiful golf course, take in the beautiful scenery and have an opportunity to watch these people strike the ball, I encourage them to do so,” said George Sisson, Jamestown CC’s athletic director and the tournament director.

And, if they do, it’s a pretty good bet that they’ll witness something special. Following are some of my personal favorite memories, gleaned while walking the fairways of the Seymour Dunn and Donald Ross-designed course the last four tournaments.

2015

Cincinnati State coach Scott Webb may have had the best celebration in the history of the event.

After posing for obligatory photographs following his team’s victory, he told his guys that he was headed for the pond that borders the 18th fairway. Emptying his pockets and stripping down to his underwear, Webb took off running and he leaped into the murky water. When he came up for air, he raised his arms in celebration, fulfilling a promise he made to himself when he took over as the Surge’s head coach two decades earlier.

“I’ve been waiting to jump in that pond forever,” Webb said that day.

2016-17

Dante Migliore of Mohawk Valley CC won a five-hole playoff to capture the individual title in 2016, only to repeat that effort in 2017 when he was the owner of a 6-under-par 282 total. That made him only the second player in Division III history to claim back-to-back championships.

“I think this one feels a little better than last year, because I’ve worked so hard,” Migliore said after his final-round 72. “It shows that hard work pays off, and you can really do anything you put your mind to, no matter who you are.”

Also in 2017, Georgia Military College, fielding an all-freshman squad, led from start to finish to win the team championship going away.

“It’s one thing when you survive and hold on, but it’s another thing when you go and just take it,” Coach Josh Miller said. “That’s what we did today. It’s not that somebody else lost it, we won it.”

Miller’s team will once again be one of 12-team field this year.

“We don’t even have to worry about rebuilding,” he said in 2017. “Today was a building process. When we talked in our first meeting we told them, ‘You’re the start of something great, and it’s up to you to be great. You’re laying the foundation for the program.’ We want to build and turn it into a perennial power and this is just the first step. I hope I’m standing here talking to you next year.”

2018

Dan Lapp had no intention of joining the Tompkins Cortland CC golf team in 2018.

After playing one year at Saint Peter’s (New Jersey) University, he transferred to Tompkins Cortland in the fall of 2017 and planned to rehabilitate his surgically repaired shoulder to get ready to ultimately play soccer at SUNY Cortland.

And then TC3 golf coach Mick McDaniel came calling.

“He talked me into playing,” Lapp said. “He has a great program. I loved playing for him.”

McDaniel’s encouragement paid off in a big way.

Fueled by a fast start — he was 3-under after six holes — Lapp turned in a 4-under 68 on the final day to claim medalist honors by nine shots over Bobby Davenport of Mohawk Valley CC. Lapp’s round on the Lake Course also included an eagle on the back nine.

Lapp’s magical round came about 90 minutes before Vincennes (Indiana) University closed out its third team victory in six years for Coach Dennis Chattin. The Trailblazers posted a final round 307, which gave them a four-round total of 1,237, 12 shots better than Sandhills (North Carolina) CC (1,249). Defending champion Georgia Military College, which led after two rounds, finished third (1,260), while Minnesota State Community & Technical College (1,264) was fourth.

Based on how both Lapp and Chattin’s Vincennes team were playing, the outcome on a gorgeous day on the shores of Chautauqua Lake was anticlimactic.

“Coming in, I was a little nervous,” Lapp said. “I had a one-shot lead (entering the final round) and anything can happen, but I stuck with my game plan all week and found a way to get it done.”

The medalist honor capped a banner season for the Ithaca resident, who shot in the low 70s all spring and posted rounds of 76-76-73-68 on his way to a 293.

“Coming in here, I was pretty confident,” Lapp said. “I knew I had a good chance. I just had to get the putter rolling, and I did the (last) two days.”

In addition to his lights-out final round, Lapp also led the tournament in pars (45), was tied with Mason Landborg of Minnesota Community & Technical College with most eagles (two) and was 6-under on the par 5s, second only to Landborg’s 7-under.

No one was able to challenge him.

UP TO THE CHALLENGE

Jamestown CC and Chautauqua GC have certainly stood tall since hosting their first national tournament in 2000. In fact, there are only two other venues in the NJCAA — Grand Junction, Colorado for Division 1 baseball and Hutchinson, Kansas for Division I men’s basketball — that have held national junior college tournaments longer.

“We’ll be finishing our seventh bid (in 2020),” Sisson said. “That means that seven times (the NJCAA) has said, ‘You know what? Chautauqua Golf Club, Chautauqua County and Jamestown Community is the best place that we can find in the United States to host this for these young people.'”

Sisson, who was named Jamestown CC’s athletic director last fall, was quick to point out the significant contributions of his predecessors, including, among others, Greg Fish, Stan Marshaus, Troy Moss, Bill Burk and Keith Martin, along with the many other volunteers who return year after year.

“When something is good for 20 years, your job is to make sure you keep guiding it down that path,” Sisson said.

Who will take away the individual and team championships this week remains to be seen. When play begins Tuesday, neither Lapp nor Vincennes CC will be in the field. Lapp has graduated, while Vincennes CC is now competing in NJCAA Division II.

“The door now becomes wide open,” Sisson said.

Meanwhile, the golf course on the shores of Chautauqua Lake and tournament host Jamestown CC have figuratively unfurled the welcome mat.

“When you get players from a large part of the United States coming to your community to do a national championship, that really is something special,” Sisson said. “To do it for 20 years? All those people before me have done a really good job.”

NOTES: Representing Jamestown CC in the tournament field will be Nick Mole and Titus Miller.