SWAINTON, N.J. – Henric Bjelke won the individual title while Campbell finished third on the team leader board following Tuesday's final round of the Coastal Athletic Association men's golf championship at Union League National Golf Club.
 
A senior from Oslo, Norway, Bjelke finished the 54-hole event at 6-under par (65-70-75—210), five shots clear of runner-up Griffin Mitchell of Drexel (71-73-71—215).  As CAA champion, Bjelke earned an automatic individual berth to one of six NCAA regionals, which will be held May 12-14.
 
Mitchell made an eagle on his 54th hole, the par-five, 530-yard 18th, to force a playoff for the team title.  However, second seed Elon (295-291-291—877) won the league's automatic bid to the regionals on the first playoff hole.  Sixth-seeded Drexel (301-283-293—877) and the Phoenix finished five shots in front of No. 88 and third-seeded Campbell (292-291-299—882) and 15 in front of No. 58 Charleston (293-301-298—892).
 
Bjelke is the seventh Campbell men's golfer to win a conference title and the first since the Camels joined the CAA in 2023-24.  He added his name to a list that includes two-time Big South champ and current PGA Tour member Jesper Svensson.
 
After playing bogey-free golf in an opening round 65, his collegiate low that tied the school record for lowest 18 in league tournament play, Bjelke finished with the most birdies (14) and 8th-most pars (32) in the 55-golfer field.  He finished second in the field in par-4 (-1) and par-5 (-8) scoring.
 
"The biggest thing coming into this week was focusing on not making bogeys, just playing the course smart, hitting the shots you're given," said Bjelke, who claimed his second collegiate win.  "I hit the ball very nicely off the tee the first two days, and made a lot of putts the first day, solid play all around."
 
Fellow Norwegian Benjamin Killingstad finished in a tie for fourth place (72-74-72—218) at two-over par.  Joachim Larsen Tegner finished T11 (72-72-75—222) and Erik Johansson T25 (80-75-77—232).
 
Named Big South freshman of the year in 2022, Bjelke became the fourth Camel to finish first in the league tournament since Svensson won the Big South title in 2017 and 2019 and Henrik Lilja tied for top honors in 2022.
 
"It's an honor to be in the same category as Jesper," said Bjelke.  "he's playing so well right now and to see what can happen if I continue playing well, it's exciting."
 
Bjelke's 54-hole score is tied for 10th all-time in Campbell's Division I conference tournament history, which stretches to the inaugural Big South tournament in 1985.  He finished T5th in the team's final year as a Big South member (2023) before placing 18th in last year's CAA Championship at the Dataw Island (S.C.) Club.
 
This week's performance marked Bjelke's sixth top 10 finish in 11 starts this season.  Dating to the spring of 2024, he has placed among the top 20 individuals in 11 of his last 15 starts.
 
"Hank just kept scratching around the edges," said John Crooks, who is in his 35th year as head coach of the Camels.  "It's not that it was the prettiest golf over all three days, but it certainly was the most effective.  He can get it up and down from anywhere.  Wherever he hit it, he chased it down and made good decisions time after time after time.  Not only did he play well, but he was very smart and mentally the strongest I've ever seen him."
 
Killingstad matched his best finish of the season by making 11 birdies (T7th in the field) and playing the par-5 holes at 5-under (T6th).  He joined Bjelke on the all-championship team as one of the top five individuals.
 
"All of this is a growing and a learning process," said Crooks of his team that finished just five strokes off the pace after leading the first two days.  "Sometimes, you have to make some decisions and find out that it was the wrong way to think.  We had some big numbers, and that's the difference between finishing third or making the playoff.  We're getting better; I'm just sorry we didn't get to cash in and get the whole prize."
 
As a team, the Camels led the field in par-3 (3.42), scoring, while finishing second in birdies (51), and third on the par-5 holes (-17).
 
The NCAA men's selection show will air Wednesday, Apr. 30 from 1-2 p.m. on Golf Channel.
 
2025 CAA Championship
Swainton, N.J. | Union League National GC (Grant & Sherman)
Apr. 20-22, 2025 | Par 72, 7274 Yards
 
Final Team Results: #T1. Elon 295-291-291—877, T1. Drexel 301-283-293—877, 3. Campbell 292-291-299—882, 4. Charleston 293-301-298—892, 5. UNCW 301-306-294—901, 6. William & Mary 304-299-300—903, 7. Delaware 292-309-304—905, 8. Towson 312-309-296—917, 9. Monmouth 313-312-313—938, 10. North Carolina A&T 315-325-310—950, 11. Hofstra 323-317-324—964. # won team title on first playoff hole
 
Final Individual Leaders (Top 5 all-championship team): 1. Henric Bjelke (Campbell) 65-70-75—210, 2. Griffin Mitchell (Drexel) 71-73-71—215, 3. Casper Nerpin (Delaware) 68-74-75—217, T4. Juan Callejo Ropero (Elon) 72-73-73—218, T4. Tim Bertenbreiter (Charleston) 71-75-72—218, T4. Benjamin Killingstad (Campbell) 72-74-72—218.
 
Other Campbell Individuals: T11. Joachim Larsen Tegner 75-72-75—222, T25. Erik Johansson 80-75-77—232, N/A. Logan Graf 82-84-X, N/A. Douglas Nordlof X-X-78.
 
Campbell Men's Golf Division I era individual conference champions
Big South Conference (1985-94, 2012-23)
1987 Gary Hobgood (71-71-73—215)
1989 Dirk Fennie (75-70-72—217)
1992 Brad Wilson (70-74-73—217)
1993 Troy Ferris (72-78-72—222)
2017 Jesper Svensson (67-66-69—202)
2019 Jesper Svensson (71-65-71—207)
2022 Henrik Lilja (71-66-70—207, lost playoff)
Coastal Athletic Association (2024-)
2025 Henric Bjelke (65-70-75—210)
 
Field: (NCAA ranking): Charleston (58), Elon (75), Campbell (88), UNCW (99), Delaware (149), Drexel (182), William & Mary (189), Towson (249), North Carolina A&T (278), Hofstra (285), Monmouth (292).
 
The Course: Union League National Golf Club (Par 72, 7274 Yards)
The backbone of this super-maximalist design from Dana Fry and Jason Straka in the South New Jersey cape are a pair of constructed 40-foot-high central ridges that half of the complex's 27 holes scramble up and down. The design is a head-spinning presentation of three different nines that show off electrified putting surfaces stuffed with all manner of tiers, baubles and side slopes, big sandy dunes, scrubby barrens, cavernous bunkers, a section on the north end that mimics holes forged from a quarry and a kaleidoscope of native New Jersey vegetation. The new Union League National earned second-place honors in the 2022 Golf Digest Best New private award.