Men?s golf finishes 10th at Kansas Invitational

Lucas Smith

Lucas SmithSportswriter

The SDSU men’s golf team finished the final round of play at the Kansas Invitational on Tuesday. This was the second tournament of the year and there is room for improvement, stability being a main concern for the young team.

“We need more consistency from top to bottom,” head coach Jared Baszler said.

After the first round of play, the Jacks sat in a tie with Drake University for ninth place with a combined score of 297. The team was ten shots off the lead, entering the second round when things took a turn for the worse. With a combined second round score of 305, the Jacks were bumped back to 11th place with only one round remaining.

“With this stiff competition, anything over 300 hurts ya,” Baszler said.

The Jacks were looking to stay competitive going into the last day of play. They shot a combined 298 in the third and final round on Tuesday. With a total score of 900, the Jacks finished a respectful 10th out of 15 teams in the tournament. Oklahoma City University won the event with a score of 865.

Sophomore David Smith shot 4 over par for the tournament and placed 15th overall.

“I struck the ball well but I didn’t capitalize on my putts,” Smith said.

This was a reoccurring theme for the Jacks as a whole throughout the event.

“We missed putts that we should have made, Baszler said. “Looking forward, we need to keep improving.”

The Jacks will need to practice their short game before traveling to Kansas State Sept. 27 to compete in the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate event.

Freshman Hudson Carpenter finished an impressive 7-over-par and placed 26th overall. With no senior leadership on the team, the Jacks will rely on some younger players to contribute and help the team compete.

The season has just begun and the team is confident in their abilities.

“We showed promise and we all played well,” Smith said. “I think we can make some noise this year.”

#1.1641613:480640027.jpg:Sophomore Greg Fehrman tied for 66th at the Kansas Invitational.:Sophomore Greg Fehrman tied for 66th at the Kansas Invitational. The Jacks finished 10th out of 15 teams over the weekend.:Collegian Photo by Ryan Robinson