The Hillsdale College men's golf team overcame a challenging opening round with a solid 36 holes on Monday and Tuesday to play their way back into a tie for ninth and a solid finish at the Ken Partridge Invitational over the weekend at the Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville, Indiana.
After an opening day 315 on Sunday had the Chargers in a tie for 12th place, Hillsdale came back on Monday to shoot a 289 and pull themselves up the leaderboard, then held on to a top 10 finish with a 300 on Tuesday to salvage an important result in a tournament filled with almost all of the top teams in the Midwest Region and Hillsdale's last regular season event before the G-MAC Championships in late April.
Strong play from Hillsdale's three freshmen was the difference for the Chargers in the event. Oliver Marshall continued his excellent season with a fourth top 10 finish in eight starts, shooting a 74-71-75=220 to tie for 10th individually. Marshall was an impressive -3 on par 5s to make his run, and also had the second-most pars (38) of any player in the invitational.
Fellow freshman Ryan O'Rourke was consistent, shooting a 75-75-74=224 to finish tied for 26th for the Chargers, while Hillsdale's third freshman player, Robert Thompson, overcame a nightmarish first round where he shot an 85 to post two rounds under par, 70 and 71, in the final two rounds of the invite and play a major role in Hillsdale's charge up the leaderboard. Thompson's 12 birdies were tied for the fourth-most of any player in the event, and he finished tied for 36th overall with a 54-hole score of 226.
Max Burns shot a 83-73-82=238 to finish tied for 83rd as well for the Chargers, and Will Verduzco carded an 83-81-80-244 to take 93rd for Hillsdale.
The result keeps the Chargers in the conversation for an at-large bid to the NCAA DII Central/Midwest Super Regional in May, but Hillsdale still has significant work to do at the three-day G-MAC Championships scheduled to take place April 22-24 at the Pearl Club in Owensboro, Kentucky. Hillsdale likely will need a top three finish to have a shot at getting in the top 10 in the final regional poll and potentially snagging a bid, and will have to watch out for surprise winners earning an automatic bid in other conferences as well. A G-MAC title would guarantee the Chargers a an automatic bid to the NCAA DII Super Regional in May.
Photo Courtesy of Kentucky Wesleyan Athletics