By Erik Bell
Sports Reporter
It was a disappointing weekend for the men’s golf team as the Falcons finished in 16th place out of 16 teams at the Marshall Invitational in Huntington, W. Va.
Bowling Green finished with a three-round team score of 908. The Falcons got off to a good start, firing a 293 in the first round and a 296 in the second round. However, the third round proved treacherous for BG, as they shot a 319 to plummet to last place in the tournament played at Guyan Golf and Country Club. The Falcons had started the third round just six shots out of sixth place. With as close as the Falcons were to sixth place to start the third round, coach Garry Winger was disappointed with the way the tournament ended.
“I was extremely disappointed with our performance,” Winger said. The cool and windy conditions during the third round led to higher scores on average, but Winger said that these conditions should have been used to the Falcons’ advantage rather than as an excuse.
“If the day was calm and warm it would have been difficult to catch the teams in front of us,” Winger said. “With the weather the way it was, anything can happen. We had the perfect day to move up the leaderboard. The weather was not a factor.”
Winger also praised the mental toughness of the individuals who performed well in the third round. None of them were Falcons, however.
“Usually the guys who are the toughest mentally play the best in those type of conditions,” he said.
Winger also said there will be a full qualifying tournament this week among the Falcons to decide who will play at the Wright State Invitational this weekend.
Individually, Austin Chase led the way for the Falcons. Chase tied for 39th place with a three-round score of 225. Chase shot a 73 in the first round, a 71 in the second round and an 81 in the third and final round.
Craig Pickerel tied for 48th place for the Falcons with a score of 227. Pickerel fired a 72 in the first round, a 76 in the second round and a 79 in the third round.
Other Falcons competing in the tournament were Chris Leake, Bud Ziglar and Andy Miller.
Leake finished tied for 67th place with a score of 230. Ziglar tied for 78th place with a three-round total of 234. Miller took 82nd place with a score of 240.
The University of Illinois won the 34th annual tournament with a three round total of 851, 22 strokes better than second place finishers Kentucky and Indiana. The Fighting Illini placed all five of its golfers in the top 15 individuals.
Several Mid-American Conference schools, Marshall, Ohio University and Miami University, finished ahead of the Falcons. The Wright State Invitational in Dayton will be played this weekend. The tournament will be played Sunday and Monday.
