A poor round one showing pushed the Kent State men’s golf team to finish in ninth place out of 15 teams in the Fighting Irish Classic, which ended Monday. 

During the round, the Flashes dug themselves into a hole by shooting 15-over-par (295). Coach Jon Mills said it was the final seven holes of the round that hurt the team the most. 

“We all seemed to make bogey and struggle at the same time, and it’s tough to pinpoint why that is,” Mills said. “Obviously, we were finishing on some tough holes, but we made these kinds of silly mistakes and unforced errors.” 

The Flashes performed much better as the tournament went on, but the team was never able to truly recover. Mills was puzzled by the Flashes quick transition of poor play to end round one to strong play in round two. 

“It’s not like they were tired, because if they were tired, they would have struggled in the second round,” Mills said. “We need to be a little mentally stronger and deal with adversity better.” 

Round 1 

Despite strong round two and three showings, it was the opening round that characterized the Flashes’ tournament performance. The team shot 15-over-par (295), finishing in a 13th-place tie, and weren’t able to overcome this deficit. 

Bright spots for the round include Edvin Backstrom’s one-over-par (71) round score. This was the senior’s first time in the lineup this season. 

Freshman Nolan Haynes finished a stroke above Backstrom with a score of two-over-par (72). 

Senior Jordan Gilkison also shined by shooting three-over-par (73). 

Round 2 

The Flashes began to pick things up in round two with a score of five-over-par (285). The improved performance helped the team make a jump into ninth place on the leaderboard. 

Mills admired his team’s effort and all-around play during the round. 

“It was really nice in the second round with everyone involved,” Mills said. “All five of our guys were competing and playing well.” 

Gilkison led the charge for the Flashes with four birdies en route to a round score of three-under-par (67). The senior shot an even-par (140) overall and was tied for eighth place. 

Isaiah Ibit finished round two with a score of two-over-par (72) after shooting 14 pars and a birdie. Despite the solid round outing, the freshman had an overall score of 16-over-par (156) and tied for 82nd place due to a poor round one performance.

Backstrom, Haynes, and senior Bryce Reed all shot three-over-par (73) in round two. 

Backstrom shot four-over-par (144) overall, Haynes shot five-over-par (145) overall and Reed shot 12-over-par (152) overall. Following the second round, Backstrom was tied for 24th place, Haynes was tied for 30th and Reed was tied for 75th. 

The Flashes ended the day 18 strokes outside of first place. 

Round 3 

Gilkison followed up his strong second round performance with another eye-catching outing in round three. He shot one-under-par (69) to move into a seventh-place tie; his overall score for the tournament was one-under-par (209). 

“He competed at a very high level and played with a lot of determination and grit,” Mills said. “When you’re super competitive, you just find a way to do it, and he does a great job of doing that.” 

Ibit matched Gilkison with a one-under-par (69) score of his own. Although his 64th-place tie on the leaderboard didn’t show it, Ibit managed a solid outing after shooting 15-over-par (225) for the tournament. 

Haynes clocked in a decent round three score after shooting two-over-par (72). His consistent tournament performance helped him finish in a 28th-place tie with an overall score of seven-over-par (217). 

As a team, the Flashes shot five-over-par (285) in round three to conclude the tournament. The team finished in ninth place with a total score of 25-over-par (865). 

Notre Dame, the home team, won the tournament after shooting five-under-par (835). 

Looking ahead 

The Flashes will be back on Monday to host the Golden Flash Individual in Hudson, Oh. 

Mills said he’s looking forward to playing close to home for a change. 

“It’s great to give some of the guys on the team that haven’t played as much more opportunity,” Mills said. “It’s nice to not have to travel and wake up in your own bed.” 

John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].