MADISON, Wis. – After an hour and a half rain delay the Drake University men's golf team finished in 8th-place at the Badger Invitational, hosted by Wisconsin on Tuesday.
“The course was set up challenging and played much longer with the soft conditions,” said head coach Matt Lewis. “We had three decent rounds but needed a fourth. We did move up one spot today and beat Illinois State, but we had hoped to move up a few more spots. Overall it was a positive step for our young team.”
Despite soggy and windy conditions, the Bulldogs recorded the sixth best round of the day with a 306 to finish the 54-hole event with a score of 910 (303-301-306), and were just six strokes from tying sixth-place USC Upstate.
Individually, just four strokes separated Drew Ison, Jack Kennedy, Matt Lavery and Tommi Avant. Ison led the squad with a 227 (75-76-76), good for tied for 29th-place, while Kennedy carded the lowest round of the day for Drake with a 75, finishing the three-day event with a score of 228 (78-75-75). Lavery and Avant both put together two strong rounds the previous two days, but struggled on the final day, registering a total score of 229 (76-74-79) and 230 (74-76-80), respectively. Senior Blake Huser shot is best round of the tournament, carding a 76 and finished with a score of 233 (80-77-76) to round out Drake's performance.
The Bulldogs will host the Zach Johnson Invitational on Oct. 5-6 at the Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines. Action is set to get under way at 8:30 a.m. on Monday and 9 a.m. on Tuesday.