WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's golf team is in a two-way second-place tie with North Dakota State after the first day of play on Monday, Oct. 1 at the 2018 Zach Johnson Invitational. Playing conditions were tough Monday with steady mist and rain early followed by strong winds and lower temperatures as the day went on.
Drake shot a combined 598 (295-303) through 36 holes at the Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs are five strokes back of current leader and Missouri Valley Conference rival Bradley. Drake Bushong of Bradley is the individual leader at 141 after he carded a 4-under 67 in round one for the top round of the day, but slipped to a 74 in the second round.
"Today was a challenging day with cold and wet conditions," said Drake head coach
Matt Lewis. "After a slow start in the first round I thought we played pretty solid. The rain picked up in the afternoon which made for tougher scoring conditions. The guys battled hard all day and I was proud of their effort."
Drake junior
Kyle MacDonald (Burlington, Ontario) is tied for seventh place after he carded a two-round total of 5-over par 147 (73-74). Junior
Chase Wicklund (Scottsdale, Ariz.) shot even par 71 in the first round but stumbled with a 78 in the next 18 holes as he is tied for 13
th with a score of 149. Senior
Tommi Avant (Chandler, Ariz.) shot a 152 (75-77) and sits in a tie for 26
th.
Freshman
Lucas Scherf (Grinnell, Iowa) started the day with an 83 but then shaved nine strokes off for second-round score of 74 and a two-round total of 157. Freshman
Shayne Patel (Edmond, Okla.) went 76-81 for his own 157. Patel and Scherf are tied for 44
th.
Playing as an individuals, senior
Arjun Reddy (Tulsa, Okla.) finished with a 154 (73-81), sophomore
Tim Lim (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) a 162 (79-83) and freshman
Zac Jenkins (Warfield, England) a 166 (88-78) as he improved his score by 10 strokes.
The 54-hole event features 11 teams with Drake; Bradley, Creighton, Eastern Illinois, Green Bay, IUPUI, Loyola, North Dakota State, South Dakota, UNI, Valparaiso and Western Illinois.
"We put ourselves in position," Lewis said. "Our goal was to give us an opportunity going into the final 18. We will stick to our game plan and I am excited to get back out to compete tomorrow."
The final round of the Zach Johnson Invitational will be held Tuesday morning with play starting at 9 a.m.
