After a short break, the Kent State men’s golf team competed in its second tournament of the spring season at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The Flashes placed sixth out of 16 teams, shooting three over par (867).

“I’m happy with the way they played,” coach Jon Mills said. “You look at the scores and where they finished, and no one really played great for the tournament, but when one player didn’t play very well one day, someone else stepped up, which is really good to see.”

The results do come as an improvement from last season when Kent State finished tied for ninth place at the same tournament.

Mills said no matter how many times a golfer plays a course it’s important to be adaptable in order to see improvements.

“Every day you play, you’re learning the course, how the greens roll and how the course plays,” Mills said. “You just have to keep adapting and learning. We come back here every year, and there’ll be players that are playing it for the third year in a row, but they’re still learning, and as long as they stay adaptable, it’ll help them in the long run.”

Round one

The Flashes concluded the first round of the tournament tied for sixth place at two over par (290). 

Freshman Isiah Ibit finished the round tied for third place at four under par (68) to lead the Flashes. 

Also shooting par or better was senior Jordan Gilkison, who recorded an even par (72) through his first 18 holes to sit tied for 24th place ahead of round two. 

Senior Edvin Backstrom and freshman Nolan Haynes also landed within the top 50, firing a one-over-par 73 and two-over-par 72, respectively. 

Round two

The second round was a bit slower. 

After a weather delay, Kent State took to the course, shooting six over par (294). This landed the team in a tie for ninth place by the end of the round.

“The second day was very windy, and we did get some rain, which got us called off the course,” Mills said. “It was a challenge when we got back out. It’s a hard golf course, and when you get some wind, it really magnifies mistakes, so I think at some point everyone on our team went through that.”

A strong performance in round two came from Haynes, who led the Flashes at two under par (70). This effort improved his overall score to an even-par (144) and had him tied for 21st place.

Senior Bryce Reed shot Kent State’s second best round of the day at two over par (74). He narrowly trailed the top 50 at six over par (150) after 36 holes.

Ibit, who completed the round five over par (77), and Gilkison, who recorded a three-over-par 75, still sat within the top 40 at the end of day two. 

Round three

Reed continued to build momentum in the final round, shooting the Flashes’ best round of the day at four under par (68). After 54 holes, he tied for 33rd place at two over par (218).

Ibit was the highest individual finisher for the Flashes overall.
With an even-par (72) round three, Ibit concluded the tournament one over par (217) to tie for 28th place. 

Gilkison also recorded an even-par (72) in the third round. This kept him in the top 40, tied for 38th place at three over par (219). 

Haynes and Backstrom both tied for 42nd place at four over par (220) after the three rounds. 

The team as a whole finished at five under par (283) in the third round, culminating in the three-over-par 867 final team score and a sixth place finish.

Mills said the team did what they needed to do in the final round to get back to where they started. 

“In the stretch coming down, we made a bunch of birdies, and that helped move us up,” Mills said. “We needed to make a bunch of birdies to separate us from some of the other teams, and from 15-16 they did that, which was nice to see.”

Looking ahead

The next tournament of the Flashes’ spring season will continue in Awendaw, S.C., Sunday at Hootie at Bulls Bay.

Mills said even though they have a short turn around, they are going into the next tournament with good motivation.

“Everyone here has played Bulls Bay, so we’re just preparing and getting ready ahead of the practice round Saturday,” Mills said. “Ultimately, there’s still good momentum that we’re dealing with, and we’re in a good position going into the tournament this week.”

Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].