In nine seasons at the helm of the BG’s men’s golf team, coach Garry Winger has never experienced a start quite like this.

Tuesday, his Falcons captured top honors in both the team and individual competitions at the Earl Yestingsmeier Intercollegiate hosted by Ball State, marking the second consecutive tournament in which the Falcons have taken first in both categories.

This week’s victory was achieved on the strength of an incredible day, one which saw the Falcons fire rounds of 276 and 280, enough to outclass the field by a whopping 14 shots while also breaking the school record for a team 36-hole score.

‘I can’t say enough about how our guys played on that first day,’ said Winger. ‘In my time here, I’ve never had that big of a lead after two rounds. It was really special.’

On a day when only 11 rounds in the 60s were turned in, the Falcons had four of them, led by Drew Preston’s tournament-winning rounds of 65-67. Preston’s total of eight-under-par 132 was the lowest 36-hole individual score in BG history, breaking the old mark by four strokes. It also gave the sophomore a seemingly insurmountable seven-shot lead going into the final round Tuesday.

‘I put myself in great position all day,’ Preston said. ‘My short game and my putting were also phenomenal. My putting was what really made the difference.’

However, day two proved to be as difficult for the Falcons as day one was easy. Ominous signs began almost immediately when Preston came right out and made a messy double bogey at the first hole. Other members of the team also struggled out of the gate, and it would soon become apparent to Winger that the Falcons were not simply going to waltz their way to victory.

‘A lot of our guys really struggled on the second day,’ Winger said. ‘There was a lot more wind out there and many of the flags were tucked away in difficult locations.’

Nowhere was that struggle more evident than with the tournament leader Preston. After making the turn at plus-three, Preston saw his round really begin to implode with a horrid stretch of bogey-bogey-double bogey at holes 11-13. All of a sudden his seven-shot lead had been whittled down to almost nothing.

‘I came out at the start of the day and did not play as aggressively as I did on day one, which was big mistake,’ Preston said. ‘I also missed a lot of putts, which I was making in round one.’

Hot on Preston’s heels as the round drew near conclusion was his teammate, John Powers. Powers had been steady but not spectacular on the first day, posting rounds of 73-67 to position himself in third place going into Tuesday, eight shots behind Preston.

‘I thought it would take something like a 64 to catch Drew [Preston],’ Powers said. ‘He played so well for the first two rounds that I didn’t think anyone was going to catch him.’

However, as Preston kept sliding backward, Powers – who had held his round together with a number of spectacular up-and-downs – suddenly found himself right in the thick of things down the stretch before a bogey at the last hole took some life out of his chances.

‘I knew that Drew wasn’t playing well,’ Powers said. ‘But I didn’t know how close I actually was until the final couple of holes.’

Powers’ final round of 71 was the lowest of any Falcon Tuesday and proved to be just what was needed to secure a six-shot victory for the team.

‘Honestly, all day I was just focused on how I could help our team rather than trying to chase down Drew,’ said Powers, who would finish second with a total of plus-one. ‘Even though I didn’t win, I was happy to make the contribution I did.’

With his round quickly slipping away from him, Preston knew he needed to make something happen as he approached the reachable par-5 15th.

‘I knew that I was now in danger of losing the tournament,’ Preston said. ‘Going to 15, I felt that I had to make four.’

After hitting his second into a greenside bunker, Preston got up-and-down for his much-needed birdie, which enabled him to come to 18 with a two-shot lead over Powers. After driving his ball into the trees, Preston laid up to about 100 yards and then stuffed his approach shot to within two feet. After a long, hard day he could finally begin to taste his first collegiate victory.

Preston strolled up to the green and calmly tapped in the putt, giving him solo first place with a three round total of one-under-par.

‘I kind of have mixed emotions because I did play so bad during the final round,’ Preston said. ‘But the big thing I will take out of this week is that I was able to weather the storm and come out on top. This will be a huge confidence booster for me.’

‘I’m just so proud of Drew and of our whole team,’ Winger said. ‘It was not easy on the final day, but our guys hung tough and stuck it out. We realize we have a long way to go, but we are just going to take tonight and enjoy this one.”