MADISON, Wis. – The Drake men's golf team finished in 12th place after the conclusion of the final round on Tuesday afternoon among the 19-team field for the Bader Invitational from University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Bulldogs compiled a total score of 879 for the tournament bouncing back from an opening round of 16-over, 304 with rounds of 2-under 286 and 1-over 289. Southern Miss claimed the team title with a staggering score of 23-under, 841 (281-283-277).
"We were disappointed with our first round," Drake head coach
Matt Lewis said. "I thought we hit the ball pretty well but we had too many putts and didn't score well. I challenged the guys after the first round and they responded. I was proud the way they played in the second and third rounds. We putted much better and we eliminated the big numbers."
On the individual leaderboard, senior
Jake Weissenburger led the Bulldog lineup and tied for 16th. Weissenburger finished with a total score of 1-under, 215 coming back from an opening round of 4-over, 76 to finish with rounds of 4-under, 68 and 1-under, 71. Over his three rounds of play, Weissenburger carded 13 birdies, including five in the second round, which was tied for the eighth most in the field.
The rest of the Bulldog lineup finished outside the top-50 beginning with
Sam Johnson who tied for 57th at 222. Johnson improved with each round shooting 77-73-72 for his tournament. Sophomores
Luke Bohmer and
Sammy Bonaobra followed Johnson as the pair tied for 65th and 73rd, respectively. Bohmer tallied a final score of 223 (76-71-76), while Bonaobra shot a total score of 224 (77-74-73).
Dylan Drogemuller completed the Drake lineup tying for 96th at 234 (75-86-73), meanwhile.
"The course was very demanding with challenging greens and I think since this was a new tournament for us it just took us a day or two to figure them out," Lewis added. "The field was pretty strong so this was a great opportunity for us. We competed against three MVC teams and beat all of them including two that are probably considered two of the top teams. Short week and another tournament this weekend. Looking forward to keep the momentum going."
Jake Moffitt of Southern Miss took home individual medalist honors besting the field by three strokes with a final score of 202 (67-68-67).
The Bulldogs will return to action next week when they head to Chicago, Illinois for the Kemper Lakes Invitational from Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Oct. 5-6.
