After sprinting out of the blocks to start the season, the BG men’s golf team hit a bump in the road this week, finishing seventh out of twelve teams at the Xavier Invitational.
The Falcons got off to a rough start Monday, posting an eight-over-par 296 after the first 18 holes, which put them 12 shots back. From there, they were never able to mount a serious challenge, carding a 286 in the second round followed by a 292 in the third to finish at plus-10.
‘We just did not execute like we have the past few weeks,’ said coach Garry Winger. ‘The rough was a little longer here [at Oasis Golf Club] than usual, which made it very tough to advance the ball if you miss the fairway or get up-and-down if you miss the green. Overall we were just pretty sloppy each day.’
The University of Akron captured top honors in both the team and individual competitions. The Zips turned in a three-round total of 15-under-par 849, enough to best second-place Eastern Kentucky by five.
Individually, Akron junior Lucas Murray jumped out with a 66 in round one, which he backed up with rounds of 72 and 68 to post 10-under par 206 and win by two.
The individual standouts for the Falcons were Drew Preston and Matt Schneider, both of whom finished tied for 15th at even-par 216.
Playing for the first time since his win at Ball State, Preston got off to a quick start on Monday and was solidly under par at one point in the first round before falling back to shoot even-par 72. Preston would be stuck on that number the rest of the tournament, finishing with three straight rounds at even par.
‘Drew overall played pretty well,’ Winger said. ‘He had a chance to play really well, especially in the first round, but just was never able to consistently execute.’
Schneider dug a deep hole for himself after an opening round 77 but rallied with rounds of 69 and 70 to finish at even-par.
‘Matt just didn’t get off to a good start at all in round one,’ Winger said. ‘Other than that he played pretty solid, he was just too far behind.’
Parker Hewit took home his best finish of the year, shooting 73-70-75 to finish at plus-two, tied for 24th .
Wes Gates (74-77-76) finished in 50th at plus-11, while John Powers (81-75-75) came in 54th at plus-15.
The Falcons will hit the road again next week, competing in the [Cincinnati] Bearcat Invitational in Hebron, Ky., Oct. 12 and 13.