WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's golf team shared the team title with North Dakota State at its annual Zach Johnson Invitational at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Drake (853-291-279-283) overcame a three-shot deficit Tuesday and caught NDSU (853-285-282-286) which held the team lead after 36 holes. Matthis Besard of Southern Illinois claimed individual medalist honors as he led wire-to-wire. Besard carded a final round score of two-under par with a 69 to win by five strokes.
"I am very proud of the team. We had the low round of the day and was the only team under par today," said head coach
Matt Lewis. "It was a great battle out there today. It was back and forth and it was so close down the stretch."
The Bulldogs'
Lucas Scherf, who played as an individual, tied for second with Caleb Van Arragon of Valparaiso. Scherf (208-69-71-68) shot a 3-under par 68 in his final round. Junior
Nick Pittman followed his career-low 67 in round two with a 68 Tuesday to help him finish tied for fourth at 210-75-67-68. It is the highest-career finish for the Urbandale native.
Tim Lim rounded out the Bulldogs' top-10 finishers with his tied for ninth finish as he carded three 71s (even par) for a final score of 213.
Shayne Patel tied for 14
th place at 216 (71-74-71) while
Zac Jenkins tied for 16
th at 217 (74-70-73).
Jack Dumas tied for 35
th at 222 (76-71-75).
The Bulldogs' other individuals,
Nikko Ganas and
Silvester Tan tied for 54
th and 58
th, respectively.
"This was a great experience for the guys to be in the situation," Lewis said. "There were obvious things we could have done better but I was happy how the guys grinded from start to finish."
Drake will play Bradley and Valparaiso in a one-day match on Oct. 6 at Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Burlington, Iowa.
Zach Johnson Final Drake Results
T1. Drake, 291-279-283 – 853 (+2)
*T2.
Lucas Scherf, 69-71-68 – 208 (-5)
T4.
Nick Pittman, 75-67-68 – 210 (-3)
T9.
Tim Lim, 71-71-71 – 213 (E)
T14.
Shayne Patel, 71-74-71 – 216 (+3)
T16.
Zac Jenkins, 74-70-73 – 217 (+4)
T35.
Jack Dumas, 76-71-75 – 222 (+9)
*T54.
Nikko Ganas, 78-73-75 – 226 (+13)
*T58.
Silvester Tan, 80-76-71-227 (+14)
*Individuals
