Although coach Mike Fleck was hoping his players would break 300, the Ball State men's golf team shot a 301 in the final round of the Pinehurst Invitational held in Pinehurst, N.C. Despite their best score of the tournament, the Cardinals finished second to last, with a team combined score of 931.
Senior Wayne Denger led the team shooting 14 over par. Denger also broke even in the final round, tying individually for 47th place overall. While the Cardinals improved significantly during each of the three rounds, their performance was not enough to catch up with the competition.
"Obviously we were able to continue moving in a positive direction," Fleck said. "The goal was to try and get under 300, but we continued getting better, which was a nice consolation to such a poor start."
Because the Pinehurst Invitational was the season opener for the Cardinals, players such as Denger and C.D. Hockersmith were adjusting to the competition and trying to get back into the swing of things.
"We didn't play very well," Denger said. "I just want to see us wise up a little better. We don't need to shoot a 68, but we just need to try and save three or four shots a person and that will make up the difference. Obviously, it was just different competing again."
While Hockersmith believes the team needs to perform better than it did, he was glad the team positively progressed throughout the tournament. During the first round the Cardinals shot a 321, but came back with a 309 and 301 in the second and third rounds, respectively.
"The course was tough, but it wasn't like anyone was giving up," Hockersmith said. "Everyone stayed pretty positive, and our scores improved each round. We are all good and while we have a long way to go, we are headed in the right direction."
Ball State was one of four teams from the Mid-American Conference competing at the Pinehurst Invitational. Eastern Michigan finished in 8th place and the University of Toledo came in 13th. Northern Illinois finished in last place. In-state rival Indiana University came away with the victory, leading all teams with a score of 880.
Despite the Cardinals finishing 51 strokes behind the leader, Fleck was glad his team kept moving forward throughout each round.
"As the tournament went along we got a little more comfortable with the course, but it's early in the season, and the more we get out the better we will be," Fleck said. "We just didn't come out of the box as sharp as I would have liked. I think [the team] is disappointed, but they know they moved in a positive direction. We just have to take the positives and work harder for the next tournament."
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