Making a good first impression is always important.
To start the 2022-23 season, the Hillsdale College men's golf team made a great impression at the Malone-Glenmoor Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, played at the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio.
Hillsdale shot a 282-282-296 to finish runner-up to Tiffin in the 16 team event, finishing with an 860 total score for three rounds, just two strokes off the record score for a 54-hole tournament since the program was restarted in 2013.
In order to go low, the Chargers used two extremely impressive individual performances from two seniors. Both Darragh Monaghan and Gerry Jones, Jr. shot personal best rounds and earned top five finishes for Hillsdale to lead the way.
Monaghan, in particular, went far lower than he had ever gone in his career, tying for runner-up honors and finishing just one stroke behind Hillsdale's modern individual record for a 54-hole round of 207 shot by Joel Pietila in 2017. Monaghan carded a 69-68-71-208, shooting not one but two rounds in the 60s for the first time as a collegiate golfer in an eye-opening performance.
Jones Jr., meanwhile, was right on Monaghan's heels with a personal best round of his own, shooting 67-71-71-209 to finish fourth in a revelatory performance in his own right. At one point, heading out of the first round of the tournament, Jones Jr. was alone atop the leaderboard, and played the course under par for all three rounds for the first time in his collegiate career.
Along with strong play from seniors, Hillsdale also got a solid first outing from freshman Maxwell Burns, who shot a promising 69 in the second round sandwiched between two rounds of 77 to finish tied for 35th overall at 223.
In his first time playing in the A lineup for the Chargers, senior Carson Stohler shot a 74-74-77-225 to finish tied for 42nd for Hillsdale, and senior Drew Gandy also tied for 42nd with a 72-75-78 as well.
Playing as an individual, junior Will Verduzco also had a consistent first invitational for the Chargers, shooting a 75-74-75 to finish tied for 38th overall in the field of 90 golfers.
The performance stands as one of the best opening tournaments in men's golf history at Hillsdale, and gives the Chargers great hope for the season. Hillsdale has high hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament field after being the last team out in 2021-22, and of contending for a first-ever G-MAC Championship after taking a competitive fourth last season and third the year before.
The Chargers will look to sustain the momentum of their opening week success as Hillsdale travels to Findlay, Ohio next Monday and Tuesday to play in the Doc Spragg Invite, hosted by G-MAC rival and fellow title contender University of Findlay.