Kent State men’s golf team takes eighth place after slow first round

The Kent State men’s golf team practices on the Kent State University Golf Course on the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.

The Kent State men’s golf team started in 13th of 14 teams after round 1 of the Maui Jim Invitational. Kent State’s men’s golf team came back, but the Flashes came back in the second round and went on to finish eighth in their first outing of the fall season.

“I was a little disappointed,” said coach Herb Page. “We played an awesome middle round, but we can still do a lot better.”

The team finished with a total of 831. They were two strokes away from Oregon, which took seventh place and two strokes away from Oregon State and Augusta, which tied for ninth place.

“Our standards are a little higher,” Page said. “Both seniors had a respectable tournament. I just want us to be well prepared. We need to execute more consistently if we want to do better.”

Kent State’s lowest individual scorer was senior Gisli Sveinbergsson. He came in 16th place with a total of 204. He stayed consistent with scores of 67, 68 and 69 for the three rounds.

Senior Bjarki Petursson tied for 20th place with 66, 70 and 66 for the three rounds, coming out to a total score of 206.

Sophomore Josh Gilkison tied for

43rd place with a total of 212.

Junior Chris Doody and freshman Julien Paltrinieri both tied for 48th place with

a total of 213.

Freshman Johnny Travale tied for 56th place with a total of 215.

The team’s next tournament will be on Oct. 8 and 9 in Columbus, Ohio, for the

Jack Nicklaus Invitational.

Maddie Dolin is a sports reporter. Contact her at [email protected].