OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Leatherneck men's golf wrapped up play for the fall at the Bill Ross Intercollegiate on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Western finished up play in ninth-place as team with a three round total of 899 (305, 289, 305), which is the lowest three-round total for the Purple & Gold this fall.
Host Kansas City takes home the team title after posting a tournament low 870. Fellow Summit League member North Dakota State finishes in second-place with an 873, followed by Arkansas State in third with an 881. Missouri State and SIU-Edwardsville round out the top five with scores of 881 and 886, respectively.
Sophomore Nate Davis would have the low score for Western, his third time accomplishing the feat this fall. The Winchester, Ill. native finishes with a three-round total of 223 (73, 75, 75), which is good for a 21st-place tie. It is also the low three round total for the Leathernecks this fall.
Dan Bidle finishes tournament play in a tie for 35th-place after posting a 226 (77, 72, 77) for the tournament. Senior Ben Kilborn fires a two-day total of 231 (80, 73, 78), to finish in a tie for 62nd-place.
Rounding out individual play for Western is Peter McKenzie and Carson Baugher. McKenzie closed out tournament play with a 233 (89, 69, 75) and finished in a tie for 71st. His 69 in round two was the first sub-70 round for the Leathernecks this fall. In his first tournament of the fall, junior Carson Baugher finished up play with a 242 (75, 84, 83). The Edwardsville, Ill. native finishes in a tie for 75th-place.
"Yesterday (Monday) the 289 in the second round was a big boost for the guys. It was a matter of gaining confidence and executing shots and they did a great job of that." said head coach Mel Blasi, "Individually for us, Nate Davis and Dan Bidle played very well and very steady for us, they've both been great leaders for the team this fall. Ben (Kilborn) had a great second round for us and Carson (Baugher) had a good first round, which helped us out a lot. Also, Peter McKenzie did a great job of battling back in the second round, taking off 20-strokes from his score which was great to see."
Western will now be off for nearly four months before beginning play in the spring. The team will head to San Diego, CA. on February 11th and 12th, 2013 for their next tournament.
"Now is the time when u can really improve. It's easy to just put the clubs down and call it a year but we've got a few things to iron out and this is a good time to do that. Hopefully the weather will be decent for us during the next month or so." continued Blasi, "Individually, we'll have some practices where we'll work on certain things and hopefully in the spring we'll be much better. A lot of guys got good action in the fall, which is a good thing. Right now about eight or nine guys are fighting for five spots so the competition will be good heading into the spring season."
