A solid final round helped Hillsdale tie for ninth overall at the Findlay Spring Invitational on Tuesday, posting a decent finish in a critical invitational that contained the vast majority of the Midwest Region's top teams.
The two-day event, taking place at the University Club in Lexington, Kentucky, had nine of the 11 teams ranked in the NCAA's first Midwest Region rankings of 2023 last week, and the Chargers were able to finish in a tie with top-ranked Ashland and second-ranked Davenport in the final standings, as all three teams finished with a score of 889 for the invitational.
Hillsdale had to overcome a rough second round score of 307 on Monday afternoon that saw the Chargers drop five places in the team standings after shooting a 288 in the opening round on Saturday morning. The Chargers did so with a solid final round, shooting a 294 to hold on to a top 10 finish against a strong field.
The Chargers took advantage of a big final day from freshman Maxwell Burns, who birdied three of his final five holes to shoot a four-under 68, his best round to date as a college golfer. For the weekend, Burns carded a 73-79-68=220 to finish tied for 22nd out of the field of 100 golfers. Sophomore teammate Filippo Reale matched Burns' score with 220 to finish tied for 22nd as well for the Chargers, shooting an opening-round 69 and bouncing back from a round two score of 78 with a solid 73 on Tuesday to keep his spot.
Senior Darragh Monaghan shot a 73-75-79=227 as well for Hillsdale to finish tied for 59th, while fellow senior Gerry Jones, Jr. carded a 73-80-75-228 to finish tied for 68th, and senior Carson Stohler shot a 75-75-78=228 to finish tied for 68th as well.
Reale was a model of consistency, especially in his first and third rounds, shooting par on 39 holes, the second most of any player in the invitational. Monaghan, meanwhile, made a hole-in-one on the Par 3 eighth hole during his first round, and had an impressive showing on Par 3s throughout the tournament, shooting even-par on those holes to finish tied for the fourth best score among all players.
The results of the tournament bode well for Hillsdale, as the Chargers finished tied with or ahead of three teams currently ranked in the Midwest Regional rankings. While Hillsdale is unlikely to be propelled into the top 10 in the region rankings with this result, it puts them back in the conversation and gives them an opportunity to play their way into the eventual NCAA Super Regional field with strong finishes at their final two invitationals of the season and the G-MAC Championships in mid-April. Hillsdale next travels to Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, April 3 for the two-day Music City Invitational hosted by Trevecca Nazarene at the Hermitage Golf Club. With several regional foes expected to be in attendance, it's another good chance for the Chargers to make a move as a team.
Photo by Scott Galvin