Golf places 14 of 16 teams in Ball State Cardinal Classic
In the final round of the Ball State Cardinal Classic at the Players Club on Sept. 18, the Central Michigan golf team shot a 318 to total a 950 score over a two-day, 54-hole tournament.
The Chippewas placed 14th out of 16 opponents. CMU totaled scores of 315 and 317 on Sept. 17 in the tournament. Sophomore Jami Laude scored a team-best 234 with a 79 on Tuesday to close out the rounds. Fifth-year senior Holly Hines led the Chippewas on Tuesday by going 6-over par (78).
“We would’ve like to place higher and we have all the ability to do so but we couldn’t avoid the big numbers in some rounds this week,” said head coach Jim Earle. “I think we are up there with the top-third of the field for sure.”
Indianapolis University, who is the defending Division II National Champion, shot a 866 to defend its tournament crown. They finished 35 shots ahead of fellow Mid-American Opponent and tournament host Ball State who tied for second place with Southern Illinois.
Leading the way for the Greyhounds with the best score of the tournament was Kennedy Holtsclaw who scored a 213 total after capping off the classic with a 3-under par (70) performance.
Senior Bria Colosky shot the second-best total on the team with a 236 and finished with an 81 in the final round. Sophomore Megan Deardorff shot an 80 in the final round to finish with a 245 mark, followed by junior Danielle Sawyer who shot an 85 to end the tournament and finished with a 246 score.
“We’re pretty inexperienced even though we have two seniors but I was proud of the way they fought,” Earle said. “They handled themselves very well for the situation they were in.”
While the temperatures were climbing towards 90 degrees throughout the two days, Earle said it can’t be used as an excuse.
“Everyone is playing in the same conditions,” Earle said. “It was pretty hot that’s for sure. We probably finished where we should with where we were ranked within the field, but ability wise we are a heck of a lot better.”
Earle said the team plans to work on keeping the ball in play.
“We had a lot of penalty strokes out there,” Earle said. “We are going to work on alignment and some other things to bring those strokes down and with that should come better results.”
