Late surges pushed the golf team over conference rivals in two tournaments in the past two weeks as the Chargers set their sights on the G-MAC Championships in late April.

Hillsdale placed fifth out of 18 teams at the Ralph Hargett Memorial Invitational in Monroe, North Carolina on March 18-19. On Monday and Tuesday, the Chargers tied for 10th out of 18 teams at the Findlay Spring Invite in Richmond, Kentucky.

In both tournaments, Hillsdale golfers started slow but rallied in the later rounds to move up the rankings, said head coach Matt Thompson. 

“We struggled in the first round and battled our way back,” Thompson said. “We had the third best round yesterday to climb the leaderboard a little bit and got a lot closer to the rest of the field. As the tournaments went on, we settled in and played some good golf. We’ve just got to get off to some better starts.”

Hillsdale’s score dropped throughout this week’s tournament in Kentucky, from 305 in the first round, to 305 in the second, to 286 in the third.

Like the team, freshman Oliver Marshall shot lower as the tournament went on, carding 75-72-68 to finish one-under-par in the latest tournament.

“He’s been great,” Thompson said. “I think his round of 68 yesterday finally put a lot of the pieces together that he’s felt like he’s been really close to having.”

Marshall said he has felt his mindset improve in later rounds.

“Some of it was just knowing the course a little better after having played it a couple times,” Marshall said. “I’d say a lot of it was just that I did a little better with my mental process during last round than the two previous rounds.”

Marshall’s fellow freshman, Ryan O’Rourke, also shot best on the last hole with an 80-76-72 overall. Marshall, O’Rourke and freshman Robert Thompson have consistently been in the Charger lineup this season.

“They came in as highly accomplished junior golfers and I think they’ve kind of done a lot of what we hoped they would do their freshman year,” coach Thompson said.

Sophomore Max Burns dropped 10 strokes on his final hole, finishing with a two-under-par round after an eight-over second.

“I just made some kind of nitwit moves and fell behind the pack immediately. That’s just kind of tough at the beginning of a tournament,” Burns said. “On the last one, I was able to come back a little better at the end to help the team out a little bit.”

Junior Will Verduzco shot a 73-73-76 in the Findlay Invite. 

Verduzco has battled injuries as a Charger, including a bad wrist his freshman year, a broken fibula sophomore year, and a separated shoulder this year. His March appearances were two of his three this year.

“I think it’s culminating in my last senior year,” Verduzco said. “Hopefully we can do something special with that. I know that I’m determined to do what I can you know provide for the team and play my role as a senior now setting the example for these guys below me and being a leader in that sense.”

The Chargers head to Noblesville, Indiana next week to play in the Ken Partridge Invitational at Purgatory Golf Club April 7-9. 

Burns said the course’s open design makes wind more difficult for golfers.

“It’s fun, but it can be hell,” Burns said.

The G-MAC Championships in Owensboro, Kentucky will be played April 22-24.

“We’re right on the edge of qualifying for regionals,” coach Thompson said. “We’re going to put everything we have into the next few weeks and focus on getting off to some better starts.”