The Kent State men’s golf team took second place in consecutive years at the Gopher International in Minnesota. 

“I’m really happy with how the guys competed. They had a chance to win, and it would have been great to start the year winning the first event,” coach Jon Mills said. “We did not finish as well as we would have liked, but at least we had an opportunity to win and something to build from.”

KSU finished two under par. Tournament winner North Carolina Wilmington shot seven under par.

Kent State had three golfers finish in the top ten of the tournament. 

Finishing at three under par and placing fifth in the invitational, redshirt senior Cade Breitenstine blazed the trail for KSU. 

“His experience, being he’s a fifth-year senior and has been working hard,” Mills said. “He had a good summer, and it paid off this week.”

Juniors Jordan Gilkison and Edvin Backstrom followed behind Breitenstine, shooting a two-under for the tournament and tying for sixth. 

The three men each recorded a team-low score of 69 during one of their three rounds.  

“Keep working, doing the same stuff and build off of what we did well this week. Also, looking at what we struggled with and focus on that in our practice,” Mills said. “We head to Chicago next Saturday, and it’s a completely new week, so we have to be ready for it and be prepared just like we were this week.” 

On the final day, junior Bryce Reed shot a 70 for one under par, which improved his positioning by 12 spots. He also had the only eagle for Kent State this weekend.

Mills stressed the importance of the team aspect part of golf. 

“In college golf, even though you might not be playing well individually, you can help the team on any given day,” he said. ”[Reed] was a big part of that last day by playing well.” 

This weekend was also Backstrom’s first appearance as a member of Kent State after he transferred from Holy Names University, a Division II school.

“I think it’s just making that jump and playing in tournaments that have consistently strong players,” Mills said. “It was awesome to see him step up and qualify for the event and play as well as he did. He’s a very good player, and he fits into everything that we do here.” 

The Flashes will be back in action on Sept. 25 at the Windon Memorial hosted by Northwestern University. 

Emily Lowen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].