The Kent State men’s golf team competed in the Hootie at Bulls Bay over the week, where it placed eighth out of 15 teams.

The Flashes shot 15 under par. This was its second-best score this season.

Despite a solid score, coach Jon Mills said he felt the team wasn’t playing at its full potential. 

“We got off to a very slow start, and we actually know the course well,” Mills said. “On the first day, we had pretty favorable scoring conditions and should have had a couple guys four or five under par, but we just didn’t have that, which put us behind right away. The second day had tougher conditions and we didn’t move up. They really didn’t play hard until the last day.”

Rounds one and two

After 36 holes, the Flashes concluded the first two rounds of competition in 10th place at three under par.

Freshman Nolan Haynes led Kent State, opening the tournament Sunday with a one-under-par (71) first round and continuing with a two-under-par (70) second round Monday. Haynes sat tied for 16th place at three under par at the end of day two.

Freshman Isiah Ibit followed closely, finishing round two only one stroke behind Haynes. After two consecutive rounds of one under par, Ibit sat tied for 23rd place at two under par.

Senior Bryce Reed also finished under-par after 36 holes. An even-par (72) round and a one-under-par (71) round had Reed tied for 28th at one under par ahead of the final round. 

“The second day was windy, but it wasn’t anything we weren’t used to,” Mills said. “A lot of other teams made a lot of birdies and didn’t have an issue with it, so I think it was an important factor of making more birdies during that round, and we didn’t.”

Round three

The Flashes picked up their pace in the final round. 

Ibit led round three shooting four under par (68), closing the tournament tie for 16th place at six under par.

With a third round of three under par (69), Haynes also finished six under par to tie for 16th place.

Senior Jordan Gilkison and freshman Ramiro Acevedo had strong final rounds, shooting three under par (69) and two under par (70), respectively.

“Two freshmen played very well throughout the tournament, and another had a really good final round,” Mills said. “I was really happy with how both Acevedo and Gilkison played the final round. Overall, we limited the damage with that last round.”

Gilkison ended the tournament six over par, tying for 71st. Acevedo tied for 50th place at one over par. 

Reed saw a top-50 finish as well, tying for 42nd at one under par after shooting even-par (72) on day three. 

The team as a whole finished at 12 under par (276) in the third round, culminating in the 15-under-par final team score and an eighth place finish. 

“That final round was a good way to end the trip with a really good team score,” Mills said. 

Looking ahead 

The Flashes return to competition close to home at the Buckeye Invitational in Columbus April 11. 

Mills said the team assessed its play at the Hootie but does not want to dwell on the results. He and the team are ready to look forward and prepare for the next tournament.

“We’ve moved on, and we’re ready to work harder for the next tournament,” Mills said. “We have a bit of a gap, so we’ll sit down and figure out how to play the course, setting up practice and getting the team thinking about what we need to do now.”

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