On Monday, the Kent State men’s golf team took home its first win of the season at the inaugural Muirfield Shootout in Dublin, Ohio. 

The two-round shootout was hosted by Miami University, where several competitors from the Mid-American Conference competed for the inaugural tournament title.

KSU shot three-over-par (579) to take home the win on Monday.

Sophomore Darcy Hogg and freshman Christoffer Leuenhagen took charge for the Flashes, shooting even-par (144).

following the duo of Hogg and Leuenhagen, was senior James Newton, shooting two-over-par (146). 

Freshman Liam Curtis was also a top contributor. He carded a five-over-par (149) to supplement the Flashes’ scoring.

Sophomores Nolan Haynes and Isaiah Ibit took up the tail end for KSU in Dublin, as Haynes finished seven-over-par (151) and Ibit sat at nine-over-par (153).

The Flashes had an extremely successful outing in the inaugural tournament with contributions across the board. It was a great opportunity for the team to see how they stacked up against several other competitors in the conference.

“We had played a couple of teams like Eastern Michigan and didn’t play very well,” Coach Jon Mills said. “It was a good confidence builder going in and knowing that even though we have a young team, we’re a good team and we can compete against anyone.”

Round One

Round one saw the Flashes take sixth place, shooting eight over par (296). Despite their middling position, KSU still held a prime opportunity to move up the leaderboard in round two.

Leuenhagen and Newton tied for a score of one-over-par (73) in round one. Their charge was crucial for the squads sixth place push.

Hogg and Ibit also came in a tie, both shooting three-over-par (75). The duo came in clutch in the first round with solid performances.

Curtis and Haynes had their scores dropped in the first round as Curtis shot six-over-par (78), while Haynes shot seven-over-par (79).

After round one, the Flashes were in a good place. However, they had yet to make a statement to leave their mark on the regular season. 

“The guys that didn’t play well in that first round got a little fire in them, and they bounced back well,” Mills said. “It came down to, especially at the end, us just hanging in there.”

Round Two

In round two, the Flashes came together and made their title push for the inaugural Muirfield Shootout. They shot five-under-par (283) in round two, winning the tournament.

Hogg led the KSU team, shooting three-under-par (69). His jump in scoring landed him in fourth place on the individual leaderboard.

Leuenhagen and Curtis both carded a one-under-par (71) score as Leuenhagen tied Hogg for fourth, while Curtis took 27th place.

Haynes rebounded from his first-round struggles, shooting an even-par (72) to round out the Flashes’ second-round scoring. He jumped up 19 places to finish 39th.

Newton and Ibit had their scores dropped in the second round. Newton shot a solid score of one-over-par (73), though his teammates stepped up despite his discarded score; he finished in 16th place. 

Meanwhile, Ibit continued to struggle, shooting six-over-par (78) and finishing the tournament in 46th individually. 

“It was huge. It was really a good opportunity for us to continue, what I see as a little momentum,” Mills said. “So it was good to kind of continue that, and they definitely did that. Again, we kind of struggled in that first round, but they all showed up.”

Up Next

With the regular season coming to a close, the Flashes will next travel to Zionsville, Ind., for the Mid-American Conference Championships. They look to continue their momentum from the Muirfield Shootout on May 3-5.

Luke Nedved is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].