WHAT'S AHEAD
The Drake men's golf team resumes competition this week with a visit to Kansas City, Mo., to partake in the Bill Ross Intercollegiate next Monday (Oct. 15) and Tuesday (Oct. 16).
The 54-hole event, hosted by UMKC, will be held at the Milburn Country Club. Golfers will tee off with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, before tee times off holes one and 10 at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
The 14-team field includes: Arkansas State, Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Kansas (individuals only), Kansas State (individuals only), Missouri State, Nebraska Omaha, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Oral Roberts, SIU Edwardsville, South Dakota, UMKC, Utah State and Western Illinois.
A LOOK BACK
Drake closed out its stay at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate hosted by Kansas State University at the Colbert Hills Golf Club on Oct. 2 with a 968 (325-331-312=968) tournament score, a mark that was good for an eighth-place showing.
Redshirt sophomore Devin Leland (Huxley, Iowa) fired a 73 over the final 18 holes for Drake to conclude the event with a 236 (81-82-73) total, a mark that tied for 17th place.
Junior Matt Ohl (Milford, Iowa) turned in the Bulldogs' next-best score with a 243 (86-78-79) total, which placed him 35th in the field.
Sophomore Blake Huser (Altoona, Iowa), junior Connor Steele (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and freshman Will McDonald (Tulsa, Okla.) all registered bounce-back efforts in the tournament's final round as the trio posted scores of 81, 84 and 79, to end their 54-hole performances with 43rd-, 46th- and 48th-place efforts, respectively.
DRAKE RESULTS: Devin Leland (81-82-73=236/T-17th), Matt Ohl (86-78-79=243/35th), Blake Huser (83-84-81=248/T-43rd), Connor Steele (79-87-84=250/46th) and Will McDonald (82-92-79=253/T-48th).
Drake garnered six scores in the 70's, but its efforts fell three strokes short of defeating Creighton, as the Bluejays edged the Bulldogs in dual-match play at the Omaha Country Club on Sept. 26.
The Bluejays fired a 298 total in the event, while the Bulldogs posted a 301 score. Six golfers competed for each side with the top-four scores for both squads counting to determine the team champion.
Devin Leland fired a match-low 73 to share top honors with Ben Lowman of Creighton. Connor Steele carded the Bulldogs' second-best showing with a score of 75.
Blake Huser turned in a 76, while senior Jared Gustafson (Omaha, Neb.), Will McDonald and Matt Ohl rounded out Drake's contingent with scores of 77, 77 and 78, respectively.
DRAKE RESULTS: Devin Leland (73), Connor Steele (75), Blake Huser (76), Jared Gustafson (77), Will McDonald (77) and Matt Ohl (78).
DRAKE HEAD COACH MATT LEWIS
Matt Lewis is in his second season leading the Drake's men's golf program after being named head coach on July 26, 2011.
In his first campaign directing the Bulldogs, Drake turned in top-10 finishes in six tournaments and was led by Devin Leland and Blake Huser, who posted scoring averages of 76.3 and 76.8, respectively.
In a finish where only eight strokes separated the third- to eighth-place finishers, Drake earned a seventh-place showing at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship on the strength of a 910 (303-292-315) score.
Huser tied for 12th at the State Farm MVC Championship. Also earning tournament flags for top-18 finishes were Ben Lyons and Dane Worley, who tied for 18th place.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs close out their fall campaign visiting Powells, N.C., for the OBX/Old Dominion University Kilmarlic Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 21-23).
