Courtesy: Hillsdale Athletic Department
The Hillsdale men’s golf team started off its season with a victory at the Malone-Glenmoor Invitational Sept. 8-9, winning its first team title since 2023.
Junior Rob Thompson, who shot 73-67-68 to finish with an eight-under 208 and win by four strokes, led the group to success with his first individual tournament win.
“I felt good coming into this tournament,” Thompson said. “The scores were pretty good overall as a team during qualifying, better than in years past. I also like the course we played this week.”
“Rob played great,” senior Max Burns said. “He has been due for a win and everyone is excited he got it done this week because we all know how good he is.”
Head coach Luke Kelly said he expects more success as well as more hard work going forward in the season.
“We won the first event of the year, always nice to start on top,” Kelly said. “But this was not even near the best of our abilities and there is a lot to improve on. Lots of work to do in the upcoming week to improve and get ready for our next event.”
Kelly said the win was not a surprise but just a starting point for the team.
“My expectations were high coming into the season,” Kelly said. “This is what we expected to happen, so no changes in those expectations moving forward. We are always striving for more, either getting better or getting worse, never staying the same. The sky is the limit for this team.”
Junior Oliver Marshall was another strong competitor in the tournament, coming off of an injury from last season to shoot a 77-69-75 and tying for 11th place.
Marshall said the team has a deeper lineup than in former seasons which hopefully will contribute to a successful season.
“Going forward I think we could be really good this year,” Marshall said. “We are much deeper than we have been in past years. Every guy in our lineup contributed to the win, which hasn’t been the case in the past.”
Sophomore Jackson Piacesek, freshman John Cassidy, Burns, and junior Ryan O’Rourke also had strong showings, placing 17th, 25th, 28th, and 29th.
Kelly said that the team as a whole is set up for more achievements as the season goes on.
“I think the guys are maturing and growing both as golfers and as people, which will set them up for great success this year,” Kelly said.
The team will play at the UIndy Fall Invite Sept. 22 at the Broadmoor Golf Club in Indianapolis, Indiana.
