The men's golf team had to settle with a seventh-place finish out of 17 teams at the 2006 Pinehurst Invitational. The third and final round was cancelled Tuesday because of unplayable and wet conditions.
Ball State University improved its standing during the second round by shooting the fourth-lowest team score (299) Monday. The Cardinals improved seven shots from their first round and moved up two places in standing.
"We were [disappointed] because we wanted to play," coach Mike Fleck said. "The conditions would have been favorable for us to improve, with the makeup of field and the way our guys were playing."
The playing conditions at Pinehurst No. 8 in North Carolina prevented Ball State from making a charge up the standings. Rain and sleet began to fall during the second round. Fleck said the rain continued Monday night and the fairways were too wet for competition Tuesday.
C.D. Hockersmith was the top finisher for Ball State. He fired a second-round 74 to tie for 13th.
Patrick Wilkes-Krier shot the low round for the Cards on Monday with a one-over par 73. He finished in a tie for 20th.
Wilkes-Krier said he and the rest of the team were looking forward to a chance at improving their scores.
"I think we felt that we had a few more strokes that we could have taken off," he said. "We felt good with our swings. And with the leaderboard being so tight, we thought even a decent round could move us up."
Southern Methodist won the event by four shots over the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Indiana University finished five shots back in third place.
Ball State finished tied for seventh with Southern Mississippi and finished 12 shots behind SMU. Fleck said the improvement in second round was a result of the players doing a better job mentally.
"Our guys maintained mental focus and made sure every swing was important," Fleck said.
The Cardinals' seventh-place finish is an improvement from a ninth-place showing in the first tournament of the spring in Florida.
Fleck said he is pleased with the Cardinals' advancement.
"We're doing a good job making progress," he said. "We've got some work to do. We need to get sharper with everything, but I'm pretty satisfied with the individuals and the team."
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