The men's golf team posted its lowest team total of the season to finish in fifth place at the Marshall Invitational. Ball State fired a collective 288 on the final round to post a three-round total of 871 (291-292-288).
Ohio State won the 14-team tournament with an 847, as Xavier, Marshall and Eastern Kentucky also finished above BSU. Coach Mike Fleck thought the team played pretty well at the Guyan Golf Club in Huntington, West Va.
"We did a good job," he said. "We were consistent over 54 holes, so I'm fairly pleased."
The team was led by Lance Scholl and C.D. Hockersmith, who finished in a tie for 12th place overall. Both golfers shot identical scores in each round (73-72-72).
The 12th-place finish was the second straight top-20 showing for Scholl. The junior is the only member of the team with more than one letter.
"He's starting to regain focus," Fleck said. "He's getting consistent and is a guy that we're going to rely on down the stretch."
Patrick Wilkes-Krier knocked two strokes off his score each round (75-73-71) and finished in a tie for 23rd.
"I hit the ball extraordinarily well, but I just didn't drop many putts," Wilkes-Krier said.
Brandon Boomsma was consistent with his scores (76-75-75) and finished tied for 44th.
Bud Graessle (70-79-73) competed in his first tournament of the season and finished in a tie for 34th. His first round of 70 was the lowest score for the Cards in the tournament.
"He did a good job shooting two quality rounds," Fleck said.
For the first time this year, a Mid-American Conference school finished above BSU in a tournament. Competing on its home course, Marshall finished in third place, eight strokes ahead of the Cardinals.
"I'm a little disappointed, as were the players," Fleck said. "It was their home course, and I feel that on a neutral golf course we are a better team than Marshall.
"They played well and did a good job."
"We thought we could catch (Marshall) heading into the last round," Wilkes-Krier said, "but they played really well."-รก
The lowest team score on the season had a little to do with the favorable weather, but also with the team's improvement.
"The conditions were more ideal than last weekend at Kentucky," Fleck said. "(But) I feel as a team we're getting better and better."
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