NSU Alumni Golfers Make Major Debuts at Open Championship
Richard Mansell and Ricardo Celia, former golfers on Nova Southeastern Sharks men’s golf team, made their major championship debuts on July 15 at the 149th Open Championship, the world’s oldest major golf tournament. This year’s Open Championship was held at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England.
Celia, a native of Barranquilla, Colombia, arrived at Nova Southeastern as a freshman in the fall of 2010 and graduated following the 2014 spring season as one of the program’s most highly decorated players. He was named to the All-Sunshine State Conference team all four years, including first team honors in both 2012 and 2013. He also finished among the top-3 at each of his four SSC Championships, with a first-place tie as a freshman and a two-stroke victory in 2013. In addition, he earned recognition on three Golf Coaches Association of America All-American teams, the best of which was a first team nod in 2013, when he finished the season ranked No. 3 nationally, as well as a place on the All-Freshman team in 2011. In 2012, he aided the Sharks to the first National Championship in program history, defeating his Chico State opponent in the final round of match play by a single stroke. He earned his spot in this year’s Open as the winner of the 2019 Open de Argentina, waiting an extra year to fulfill his dream because the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled last year’s event.
“It is a dream come true. Playing an event of this caliber is something I will never forget. I feel like I’m in a kind of movie surrounded by the best actors on the planet. The happiness I feel is indescribable,” Celia told PGATour.com. He also played his practice round with six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who won the event in 2013, and 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, adding “I wanted to put some pressure on myself before the first round to experience a little of what the tournament will be like. Playing with two idols like Mickelson and DeChambeau was amazing.”
Mansell, playing 213 miles from his hometown of Staffordshire, England, came to the Sharks as a transfer after a year at fellow NCAA Division II member Newberry College in South Carolina and wasted no time in making a name for himself. Much like Celia before him, Mansell also received a GCAA First Team All-American honor, finished the season with the No. 3 ranking in all of DII, and helped the Sharks to a National Championship, all in his first season with the program in 2015. He would go on to be named to both the All-SSC and All-American teams in all three years, picking up four SSC Golfer of the Week awards along the way. Another top-10 DII finish (No. 9) and individual National Championship run followed in 2016, and in 2017, he represented Team Europe at the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and was a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Division II Player of the Year award. He was named to the 156-player field as a final qualifier from an event held at Notts Golf Club in Nottingham at the end of June.