COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Drake men's golf team wrapped up its time at the Tiger Invitational on Tuesday and ended the tournament tied for ninth place among an 18-team field. The Bulldogs finished with a team score of 874 (295-297-282) after 54 holes of play.
"Overall I was very pleased how well we played," Drake head coach
Matt Lewis said. "The guys dealt with challenging conditions from the cold weather, frost delays, windy conditions, soft course, and very tough pin locations. The set up was very difficult and the guys handled everything pretty well."
Senior
Jack Dumas had the top performance for Drake and earned himself a top-10 finish tying for eighth place on the leaderboard. Dumas improved each round of the tournament recording rounds of 74, 70, and 69 en route to his 213 total. The LeClaire, Iowa native had the ball rolling on the greens making 11 birdies over the tournament, which was tied for the second most in the field.
"This tournament was another opportunity for the team to play against a strong field," Lewis said. "I was proud to see Jack [Dumas] play well this week. I know he has been working hard and it showed with his strong finish."
Jake Weissenburger was next on the leaderboard for the Bulldogs tying for 44th at 220 (74-76-70) and concluded his tournament with a final round of even par.
Nate Spear displayed consistent scores in a tie for 51st finishing just one shot behind Weissenburger at 221 (74-73-74).
Sam Johnson and
Nikko Ganas concluded the Bulldog lineup tying for 77th and 80th. Johnson posted rounds of 73, 79, and 74 adding up to his 226 total score, while Ganas went for rounds of 80, 78, and 69. Ganas' final round 69 tied Dumas with the low round of the event for the Bulldogs.
"Nikko [Ganas] had a tough first two rounds and came up clutch with a great final round when the team needed it," Lewis said. "I love the team effort the guys are putting out each week and feel the momentum we are continuing to build."
Host institution Missouri won the tournament shooting a team score of even par, 840. The Tigers' Mattias Varjun won the individual race and was the only player in the tournament to shoot under-par (-4).
The Bulldogs will be back on the course next week for the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa. The tournament will be held at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City and take place April 13-14.
