The Hillsdale College golf team placed ninth at the Findlay Spring Invitational at the University Club of Kentucky.
“We were a bit disappointed in the finish but there were a lot of positives to take away,” Junior Gerry Jones Jr. said. “We always perform well in the first 2 rounds but put too much pressure on ourselves in the 3rd round. The first two pars went well for the team with them pulling an even-par due to strong play.
The strong showing in the first two rounds allowed the team to finish before going into the third round sitting solidified ranked fifth.
“We were all happy with how we did on the first day,” freshman Flippo Reale said. “We have to build off that.”
Jones Jr. shot at five-over in the final round through nine holes. Jones played his final round nine at 3-under, birdieing 18, 1 and 5 to finish with a 74. Combined with an opening-round 70 and a second-round 72, Jones achieved an even-par 216 for the tournament, giving him a tie for 12th place overall.
Freshman Oscar Darlington followed Jones shooting a 73-71-74-218, tying for 25th place overall.
Senior Josh Davenport started with a strong push shooting a 70 in the first round and a 74 in the second. Unfortunately, the third round gave him an 80 finishing him out tying for 47th place with a score of 223.
Tying with Davenport for 25th was freshman Flippo Reale who shot a 75-72-76-223.
Senior Drew Gandy also carded a 75-77-77-229 finishing 78th place for Hillsdale.
The team tied second at the tournament for total birdies having 53.
The team is hoping that this tournament is going to give them the necessary lessons to do well and the next upcoming tournament.
“We know we have the capability so we are going to keep forging along,” Jones said. “Next week we have a tournament in Nashville at a course we’ve had prior success at, so we are itching to get back out there.”