Golf team learns from tournament mistakes

Chris Yamnitsky

Kent State’s men’s golf team ended their 54-hole tournament at the Inverness Intercollegiate on Tuesday in ninth place out of 15 teams. The Flashes finished with a score of 48-over-900.

Following a sixth place finish last year, an early round filled with big numbers didn’t put the Flashes exactly where they wanted to be, but coach Herb Page thought Tuesday’s final 18-hole round wrapping up the tournament could’ve put them back into contention.

“Nothing like a good round tomorrow (Tuesday) that could put us in a good spot,” Page said. “Hopefully we can go out and execute and think a little better.” 

Sophomore Ian Holt finished the preliminary 36-hole round above all other Flashes, finishing with a six-over-par day. Holt went on to pace the team with a score of 9-over on the par-71 course. Freshman Gisli Sveinbergsson finished behind Holt with a score of eight-over-par in the first round and then later finished 26th overall. Chase Johnson, a sophomore, ended his round among the Flashes with a nine-over-par performance and ultimately finished second amongst all Kent State golfers. 

A high number of double bogeys and triple bogeys made the first day, and ultimately the rest of the invitational, tough for the Flashes.  

“Over the day, when you see triples and doubles, you can’t do that in college golf,” Page said. “The big thing is big numbers, they just kill you. That’s one thing that killed us today.”

The par-three third hole gave the Flashes the most grief in their 36-hole round. Finishing the hole eight-over par through the first two rounds.  

Holt fought back to eagle the 13th hole in his second round, following a triple bogey on the third hole, giving him the best score amongst the Kent State team.  

On a day where performance wasn’t at its best for the Kent State men’s team, coach Herb Page still had a positive outlook approaching the final day of the tournament.  

“Overall it was just a disappointing day,” Page said. “The good news is that the standings are tight. There is a lot of room to move up the scoreboard.”

The Flashes wrapped up the final 18-hole round Tuesday, and head to the Cleveland State Invitational on Oct. 5. 

Contact Chris Yamnitsky at [email protected].