The men’s golf team hoped to go out with a bang, as they finished their fall season at the Xavier University Provident Invitational.
The final tournament for the Falcons, which consisted of over 20 teams and three rounds, was held at the Grizzly Course in Cincinnati Ohio. The team was looking forward to playing at the Grizzly, which is also home to a yearly senior PGA tour event.
The Falcons were certainly not intimidated by the course, carding a 297 in round one. The first round score Monday had the Falcons in the top half of the field and in contention for the rest of the tournament.
The team continued their good golf throughout the afternoon and into the second round. In round two the Falcons improved their first round score by two strokes, and were moving up the leader board.
Their best golf, however, was saved until the final round. The Falcons carded a 289 as a team in Tuesday’s final round.
The overall score of 29 over for the Falcons left them in a three-way tie for ninth place with Georgetown University and Ohio University. The Falcons overall score of 881 was not too far behind the tournament winners Wright State at 1 over. It was their best score as a team also.
“We did very well, breaking the top ten and finishing tied for ninth is the best we have done in that tournament since I have been coaching here,” Falcon coach Garry Winger said. “Overall I thought this tournament was a great step forward for the young team.”
The big story for the Falcons this weekend was the two top-20 performances by Craig Pickerel and Austin Chase. Pickerel shot a 72 in the first round followed by back-to-back rounds of 68 to finish the tournament with a 208.
The five-under-par performance carded by Pickerel placed him in third place overall for the tournament. He was one of only five golfers who were able to post scores in the red. Pickerel’s placing was his best finish in a tournament this year.
His final score of five-under-par also put him in the Falcons’ record book. The 208 carded by Pickerel breaks the school’s record for best 54-hole finish in a tournament. The previous record of 210 was set by the present coach of the Falcons, Garry Winger.
Austin Chase also did his best to turn heads this weekend, as he posted a 217. The four-over-par performance for the tournament left Chase all alone on the leaderboard in 15th place.
Chase’s tournament was capped off by back-to-back 72’s as he helped his team to a top ten finish in the tournament.
The Falcons’ captain, Andy Miller, who carded a 232 overall, felt the team was a few shots short of a great finish.
“Austin and Craig played really well this week,” Miller said. “Overall I felt we played alright. I thought it was the toughest field we have had to play this season. If we could have gotten a few other scorers, we would have been high on the leader board.”
The Xavier Invitational marks the end of the Falcons fall season. The once young and inexperienced team has seemed to quiet many of the skeptics at the beginning of the season. With improvements in tournaments from last season, the Falcons had to be happy with the teams accomplishments this season.
“With the winter training and the other winter programs I feel very optimistic towards next season,” Winger said. “This season served as a way for many of the younger golfers to get their feet wet.”
The team will be back at it this spring when they travel to Orlando, Fla. to compete in the Big Red Classic on March 8.
