by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College used a big finish to climb into a tie for fourth place in the Evangel Fall Invitational golf tournament Sept. 16-17.
Seven shots back of the Science and Arts College of Oklahoma after 18 holes, the Blue Devils chopped 16 strokes off their opening round in the tourney played at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, Missouri, Golf Digest’s No. 1 ranked municipal course in Missouri.
Bethany College took first place with a 603 total followed by Williams Baptist, 611; Evangel University, 626; KCKCC and Oklahoma Science and Arts, both 640; and College of the Ozarks, 666.
Sophomore Cam Riley of Liberal continued his outstanding fall start, firing a pair of 75’s to finish in a tie for third in the medalist competition. Freshmen Jacob Hall of Tonganoxie and Dylan Freund of Cheney had identical 84-78-162 finishes to tie for 18th. Mark Towey (85-81-166) of Bishop Carroll tied for 22nd; Kellen Welsh (86-82-168) of Olathe West placed 25th; and Keegan Ellington (88-84-172) of Andover Central deadlocked for 30th. All are freshmen.
“I think our young men learned a lot,” KCKCC coach Gary Shrader said. “Rivercut is a difficult course, more than 7,000 yards (7,066) with a lot of fairway bunkers and water hazards; a big contrast to Salina Municipal where we played our first tournament. And it was hot, miserably hot. So it was a good learning experience for our young team.”
The Blue Devils return to a more friendly course Monday and Tuesday when they compete in the Ottawa Invitational at Eagle Bend in Lawrence.