The Kent State men’s golf team finished in eighth place through two rounds Monday in the Inverness Intercollegiate, despite having the top two golfers on the leaderboard.

The Flashes did not start off the tournament well in Toledo. Kent State shot 23-over-par in the first round of the tournament.

The second round fared much better for Kent State, as the Flashes posted the third best score of the tournament, shooting a 9-over-par with a total score of 293.

“I’m looking for consistency,” Kent State coach Herb Page said. “It just was not there today.”

After the first day of the two-day tournament, South Florida and East Tennessee State University are tied for first place at 11-over-par with a 12-stroke lead.

Junior Sebastian Bendsen and freshmen Chase Johnson played extremely well and are sitting tied for first place on the leaderboards. Bendsen thrived in the second round, shooting a score of 65 at 6-under-par. Despite the team not playing well in the first round, Johnson shot the second-best score in the first round at 2-under-par. Bendsen and Johnson are at even par through two rounds.

“Their strengths today (were that) they drove the ball in play all day,” Page said. “They didn’t make too many mistakes today — I mean anywhere.”

Page said he was impressed with Johnson’s and Bendsen’s high level of play early on. He said he has never seen a guy play a round of golf like Bendsen did in the second round.

“It was one of the best golf rounds I have ever seen,” Page added. “You don’t shoot that round without doing everything good, and he did everything good today.”

The Inverness Club in Toledo is one of the most precarious courses in the country, so Bendsen said he wanted to play smart and within himself.

“I tried to keep my head calm the whole day because I knew it was going to be a long day,” he said. “It is a tough golf course…I kind of had to stay calm for the whole day.”

He said he was not aware of his score. He was just out on the course trying to have a good time playing golf.

“Whenever I hit the fairway and I was in a good position, I just went for it because it felt good,” Bendsen said. “I kind of did whatever felt right in the second round.”

The Flashes will play the third and final round of the tournament Tuesday.

Contact Ray Strickland at [email protected].