The Kent State men’s golf team finished in sixth place on Tuesday at the Inverness Collegiate tournament in Toledo.

At one of the toughest golf courses in the country, the Flashes could not find the consistency needed to win the tournament.

Kent State shot 19-over-par in the final round and finished 51-over-par overall with a total score of 903.

“The real winner this week was the Inverness Golf Course,” Kent State coach Herb Page said. “The golf course was really difficult.”

Although the course was difficult, the Inverness Golf Course did shed some light on a problem that has plagued the team since it opened its season two weeks ago.

“There is no panic button pushed right now,” Page said. “We just have to improve. (The Inverness Golf Course) just exposed our weaknesses and we got some things we have to work on.”

Junior Sebastian Bendsen and freshman Chase Johnson were at the top of the leaderboards in the first two rounds, but squandered the lead in the final round. Both Bendsen and Johnson shot 6-over-par in the final round of the tournament, falling six spots to seventh place.

“They had two great rounds but they didn’t get it done,” Page said. “At the end of the week, they both had top ten (finishes) in a major golf tournament. In the big picture, I think that is a pretty good situation.“

Freshman Ian Holt tied for 36th place and shot 3-over-par in the final round, finishing at 20-over-par.

Junior Kody Fry posted a score of 6-over-par in the final round of the tournament and shot 21-over-par overall. Senior Taylor Zoeller filled in for J.D Hughes, who was ailed by an illness, and rounded out the lineup with score of a 4-over-par.

Despite lackluster finishes in the first two tournaments of the season, Page remains optimistic. He stressed the team’s need to find consistency, particularly from the entire group.

“There is some good things happening,” Page said. “When they get it all together, we are going to be a pretty good team.” 

East Tennessee State University won the tournament title with a 26-over-par score and Adrian Meronk of ETSU took home the tournament medal with a score of even par.

The Flashes will now move on to the two-day Jack Nicklaus Invitational at Ohio State’s Scarlett Course on Sunday, Sept. 28 and Monday, Sept. 29. 

Contact Ray Strickland at [email protected].