Courtesy: Ashley Van Hoose

The Hillsdale men’s golf team battled cold and windy weather at the Ken Partridge Invitational last week in Indiana, finishing 13th out of 18 teams with a 903, April 5-7.

Junior Robert Thompson earned his sixth top-10 finish of the season, scoring 4-over par. But, the inclement weather hurt the team’s overall performance, according to head coach Luke Kelly.

“The weather made staying mentally tough very important,” Kelly said. “I thought we did that in the beginning, but faltered in our mental toughness toward the end of the tournament.”

Junior Oliver Marshall described the conditions as “brutal.”

“The weather was very cold and windy for both days,” Marshall said. “I personally didn’t handle it that well, and I think the team could have done a better job as well.”

Kelly said the invitational shed light on some areas for improvement for the team.

“The team can improve around and on the greens,” Kelly said. “They also are working toward coming together and holding each other more accountable in their preparation.”

Marshall said he hopes to see the team start pulling wins at the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship, April 20-22.

“We have had some good individual performances, but haven’t been able to put it all together as a team in the spring yet,” Marshall said. “I’m looking forward to a chance to do that at G-MACs next week.”

Kelly said while the team has a two-week break between the Ken Partridge Invite and the start of G-MACs, they have been using it to their advantage to prepare and practice. 

“We have a real shot at coming out on top at the conference championship,” Kelly said. “I think the preparation this week is important to set us up with the best chance of winning.