Eastern Michigan University’s men’s golf team smashed their way into a sixth place finish at the Rutherford Invitational in University Park, PA. The Eagles were looking to improve after finishing in last place at the Kepler Intercollegiate tournament last weekend before they head to the MAC Championship in Carmel, Ind. The Eagles shot 881 as a team on the par 71, 7,202-yard Penn State University Blue Course, April 19-20.
The University of Minnesota grabbed first place after shooting a team total of 860. Seton Hall University finished in second place after shooting a team-collective of 872 and the University of Connecticut finished just three strokes behind Seton Hall nabbing third place.
Along with the Green and White’s sixth place finish, sophomore Josh Heinze had his best outing as an Eagle and a career-best finish. He finished in a tie for sixth place with Alex Gaugert of Minnesota and Peter Kim of Army. Heinze was competing in the tournament as an individual. He shot 215 overall (71-71-73), marking the highest finish for the Eagles. This bests his previous 54-hole low of 220 set earlier this season at the Wolverine Intercollegiate, Sept. 16-17, 2013.
Tournament Results
Freshman Joey Kremer finished in a tie for 16th place with Connecticut’s John Flaherty and Seton Hall’s Cory Wilson. Kremer shot 219 as a three-round total.
Freshman Kyle Rodes finished in a tie for 19th place with Louis Bodine of Rutgers University, Bill Gaffney of Youngstown State University, Tom Harris of Maryland University, and Jon Trasamar of Minnesota. Rodes shot 220 for his team.
Senior Brian Churchill-Smith finished in a tie for 29th place with Cody Cox from Penn State University, Jon Du Toit of Minnesota, Christian Elliot of Penn State, Mike Johnson of LaSalle University, Justin Paglia of Army, and Jack Sedgewick of Binghamton University. Churchill-Smith shot 222.
Junior Michael Blair finished in 39th place for the Eagles shooting 223.
Sophomore Brett White finished in a tie for 57th place with Chris Melvin of Bowling Green State University, Marcus Plunkett of Army, Austin Sipe of Wright State University, Jens Talbert of Penn State, and Ryan Worthy of Penn State. White shot 229 for the Eagles.
Top Five Golfers
1. Jose Mendez – Minnesota – 207
2. Lloyd Jefferson Go – Seton Hall – 210
3. Jonathan Chang – Rutgers – 211
4. Zach Zaback – Connecticut – 213
5. Jonathan Renza – Rutgers – 214
The Eagles are off for a week before they head to Carmel, Ind. to compete in the MAC Championship. The tournament will run May 1-3 at the Prairie View Golf Club.
