Men’s golf goes wire to wire in North Carolina

Daniel Staimpel

The Kent State men’s golf team dominated the 13-team field at the Irish Creek Collegiate in North Carolina this weekend, winning by 14 strokes and thus shattering Kent State’s 54-hole record by 10 strokes. The team’s third title of the year was also Coach Herb Page’s 75th career title.

During the course of the tournament, Kent State had back-to-back rounds of 273 or better with a 273 on Saturday and a 272 Sunday. The Kent State team had only shot five rounds of 273 or better in its history.

In all three rounds, the No. 21 ranked Kent State team placed first in scoring, going 27 under par for the tournament. The team had one round over par in the entire tournament.

Sophomore Taylor Pendrith and senior Mackenzie Hughes both shot a 205 to tie for third in the tournament. Pendrith earned his second top five performance in a row.

Sophomore Kyle Kmiecik shot a 207 over the weekend, good for a tie in seventh place. Kmiecik’s 70 on the last day of the tournament ended his chance of having an entire tournament in the 60s.

Sophomore Corey Conners tied for tenth in the tournament. Conners showed improvement over the course of the tournament. He posted a 73 on Friday, a 69 on Saturday and a 68 on Sunday.

The team returns to action at the Ohio State Scarlet Course for the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus April 14 and 15.

Contact Daniel Staimpel at [email protected].