When the Ferris State University men’s golf team arrived at the Northwood Invitational Friday, they weren’t sure what to expect.
After a stellar shooting performance in Saturday’s opening round, the team found themselves in first place with a combined score of 295.
“It’s always nice to have a lead; we all played really well and we all played within ourselves,” sophomore Sam Stark said.
The Northwood Invitational was held in Midland on a par 72 course measuring 7,056 yards.
With a three shot lead heading into Sunday’s action, the question was if FSU could pull off the victory against twelve other schools.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 298 Sunday to conclude the 36-hole event. The fifth place finish on the day tied FSU with Ashland University for second place overall. Both teams finished with 593 for a total score.
The Bulldogs were just four shots behind the tournament host and champion Northwood University. The Timberwolves captured first place by shooting an impressive tournament-low round of 289 on the final day while simultaneously redeeming themselves after shooting 300 in the first round.
“Whenever you have a lead you want to hold on to that lead, but Northwood had a heck-of-a run to end the tournament,” said Stark. “We were making shots too, but they played really great to end it. We still feel pretty accomplished finishing tied for second out of 13 teams, but we wanted to win it all.”
As individual golfers, FSU registered several top ten placers. Junior Tyler Robinson tied for fifth place overall by shooting a two-round total of 146 (70 Saturday; 76 Sunday). Senior captain Garret Simmons wasn’t far behind as he finished tied for eighth place in the field with a 147 score (72 Saturday; 75 Sunday).
The Bulldog men’s golf team will resume play next weekend in South Haven at the NCAA-II Great Lakes Region
Invitational #1.