Maintaining composure and following head coach Mike Fleck’s game plan throughout its three-day event at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Indiana, Ball State men’s golf captured the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship in convincing fashion.
Heading one hour west to Westfield, Indiana, Ball State will have a chance to redeem last season’s runner-ups with a MAC title. The Cardinals will tee off April 26 to begin their three-day event at Chatham Hills.
“We just hung in there,” said head coach Mike Fleck. “There were challenges everywhere, and it was tough. We just battled, and that is probably what I’m most proud of the guys for—their mentality today when it got really tough again.”
Finishing the round with a score of 272 as a team, Ball State finished with its lowest scoring round since the 2005 Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational. Totaling 16 strokes under par, the Cardinals closed the competition with their best round ever, commensurate with an event’s total par count.
“It is exciting,” head coach Mike Fleck said after the Ball State men's golf win. “It's exactly the start I envisioned for this group.”
The Everett Buick GMC Classic showcased a similar story for Ball State that has played out many times throughout the fall season. Like a nova, the Cardinals got hot between the first and second rounds as they quickly improved their collective score before fading out in the final round.
Bellar led Ball State in the third and final round with a 1-under-par score of 70, he finished the tournament tied for 17th individually.
Ball State finished the Badger Invitational in 11th place out of 18 teams. Junior Kash Bellar finished 4th individually at the invite.
Sophomore Carter Smith and junior Kash Bellar finished the 2023 Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational individually in first and second place to push the Cardinals to a first place finish out of 10. The Cardinals look to continue their strong start to the 2023-24 season when they head to the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, Oct. 1.
Despite the field, Ball State was able to showcase its own talent through returning sophomore Carter Smith and junior Griffin Hare who helped the Cardinals earn 4th place.
Ball State men’s and women’s golf are set to start their 2023-24 seasons after showing potential last season of what we could have in store this year.
Playing in the first National Golf Invitational, Ball State Men’s Golf finished tied for fourth with their 859 score over three rounds. Sophomore Kash Bellar won the individual title with his 7-under-par performance over three rounds. “It's about time I've had some really good opportunities to win this spring alone, I just didn't capitalize on and didn't take advantage of the final round,” Bellar said. “I think today I just proved to myself that I can be an elite player. That's the best way to show some other people and teams around the country that I am a pretty good player.”
After coming in second place in the Mid-American Conference championship, Ball State Men’s Golf looks to the postseason, playing in the first National Golf Invitational (NGI) tournament hosted by Golfweek. The tournament will be held at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona. The Cardinals qualified with their two tournament titles this spring. With those wins, Ball State gained almost 30 spots in the national rankings.
The Cardinals traveled to Athens Alabama and played at the Canebrake Golf Club. The roster consisted of sophomore Kash Bellar, graduate student Joey Ranieri, sophomore Ali Khan, freshman Carter Smith and redshirt sophomore Griffin Hare.
Ball State Men’s Golf took down three Big Ten teams en route to their fifth place at the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate. Illinois is ranked No. 3 in the nation and Northwestern is ranked No. 32, with both teams in the field. Ball State beat Nebraska, Michigan and Indiana.
After coming off of a tournament that ended Wednesday, Ball State Men’s Golf was back in action with a quick turnaround for the Boilermaker Invitational.
“The course was playing a little bit more challenging this year than in years past,” [head coach Mike] Fleck said. “I think the greens were a little firmer and faster, the rough was definitely thick, and they had some rain in the week and let the rough grow out.”
The Cardinals were at Highland Golf and Country Club in Indianapolis for the Don Benbow Invitational. The five-person roster consisted of sophomore Kash Bellar, graduate student Joey Ranieri, redshirt sophomore Ali Khan, freshman Carter Smith, and redshirt sophomore Griffin Hare.
The Cardinals traveled down to Dorado Beach Resort and Club (TPC) Sugarcane Course in Puerto Rico. The five-person roster consisted of graduate student Joey Ranieri, sophomore Kash Bellar, redshirt sophomore Griffin Hare, redshirt sophomore Ali Khan, and freshman Carter Smith.
