ARDMORE, Okla. - Dodging the raindrops on Monday, the Mid-America Christian University golf teams headed south to the Dornick Hills Invitational in Ardmore, Oklahoma to resume their fall schedule. The men's team played 36 holes on the tournament's first day, and the women played 18, and both teams played respectably well despite some less than ideal conditions.
MACU's Men's Golf team finished the day in fifth place, despite having one of their five competitors withdraw early in the first round, and Kirsten Westlake finished the opening round in seventh place individually, nine shots off the pace.
The day started slowly for the men's team, and the Evangels caught a tough break early in the first round when Kaden upton was forced to withdraw. This left the Evangels will little room for error, and when the round had ended, MACU had posted a team score of 311, which tied them for seventh in the field. Isaac Maston and Jake Reddington each opened with a round of 77, Gage Gibson shot a 78, and Austin Davis fired a 79.
The women played their Monday round concurrently with the men's first round, and MACU's Westlake was once again very consistent. The freshman from Oklahoma City shot an 86 in the round, and she finished the round among the leaders in Par 3 Scoring (t-12th, +4), Par 4 Scoring (t-2nd, +6), and Total Pars (t-3rd, 9). Hannah Price finished the round tied for 18th after she shot a 94.
As the men headed out for their second round of play, Maston took off for MACU. The sophomore Blanchard High School product tied for the lowest second round in the field with a 1-over par 71, and he sky-rocketed up the leaderboard from a 22nd-place tie all the way into a tie for seventh, just two shots off the 36-hole lead. Maston was one of only four players in the field to play the Par 3 holes at even par for the day, and he had four second round birdies to help tie him for the tournament lead in birdies made for the day with six.
Gibson shot a second round 74 to move up into a tie for 19th, thanks in part to his excellent play on the Par 5 holes. Gibson was 2-under par on the longest holes in the second round, helping him move into a tie for second in Par 5 Scoring through 36 holes at 1-uner for the tournament.
Davis shot a second round 75 which moved him into a tie for 25th, and Reddington shot a second round 80 and finished the day tied for 34th.
The tournament is scheduled to conclude, weather permitting, with an 18-hole final round on Tuesday. The round is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
