The final rounds of an event have typically been the best rounds for this year's Hillsdale College golf team. This weekend's three-round Kyle Ryman Memorial was no exception.
After shooting a 298 as a team in the first round, the Chargers bounced back with team rounds of 289 and 290 to finish tied for third place at the 21-team event, hosted by Tiffin University. Hillsdale's three-round score of 877 was tied with host Tiffin for third, only trailing event champion Wayne State (869) and Grand Valley State (877).
Joel Pietila and Logan Kauffman each got better with each subsequent round. Pietila placed third overall with a three-round score of 212. He shot a 74 in the first round, then had a pair of 69s in the final two rounds to place in the top three. Kauffman opened with an 80 in the first round, a 79 in the second round, but was able to put together a terrific third round with a 71 to finish the weekend with a 230.
Andy Grayson had a very consistent weekend, shooting 72-72-75--219 for second on the team and 17th overall. Liam Purslowe's 221 was just two strokes behind Grayson, and he shot between 73 and 75 in the tournament's three rounds.
Lefthander Henry Hitt rounded out Hillsdale's top five by shooting a 233 for the weekend with a low round of 75 in the second round.
As a team, Hillsdale moved from fifth after Saturday's second round, to just one stroke out of second place after Sunday's final round was completed.