On Tuesday at the three-round Xavier Provident Invitational in Mason, Ohio, the men's golf team finished up its fall season of play. Unfortunately, Ball State did not attain the end result it was looking for when the last round ended as the Cards tied with Michigan for a 14th-place finish and a team score of 889 (+37).
The Cardinals were also unable to meet the expectations that head coach Mike Fleck had set for them going into the invite. The team failed to place in the top third of the field and finished below all its Mid-American Conference foes.
In the midst of the Cardinals shooting woes, Wright State's Jesse Hutchins notched a tournament-low score of 201. The performance put him at an impressive 12 under par at the event and led the way for a close Shockers' victory over the MAC's Eastern Michigan.
"We took a group over there that I was confident with and we just didn't hit shots," Fleck said. "It was very disappointing. The bottom line is we just didn't play well and our guys did not perform."
Although the team finished in the lower third of the standings, senior Kenny Cook out-performed his teammates similarly to 4 other meets this season. He tallied an 11th-place outing (216), which put him at 3 shots above par.
Coach Fleck said the senior salvaged a decent finish during a tourney where he "was not on his A-game."
"Every time I tee it up I try to go as low as I can," Cook said. "That is all I can do. I don't worry about what everyone else is shooting. They just kind of have to get into their own rhythm."
Junior Mike Gant finished the invite 4 shots (220) behind Cook, but placed 30th overall. Freshman Brandon Boomsma shot a 223, which tied him for 49th position at the tournament.
Fleck said even though some good things have come out of the fall season, the team has a lot to work on during the off-season this winter. He believes most golfers need to do a better job of hitting the ball off the tee and setting themselves up for a good shot on the fairway.
"The number one thing we have to work on is our mental focus," he said. "We have to be more mentally in-tune with what's going on. Not many people are taking everything into consideration when they take a shot."
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