Golf Places Eighth in Columbus

By Justin Maskulinski, Senior Staff Writer

The Miami University golf team completed its second event of the fall Monday, placing eighth at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational.

Host Ohio State University won the 12-team event.

The 'Hawks shot 37 over par as a team for the tournament, just seven shots out of sixth place.

Miami was led by senior Scott Cahill, who finished the tournament tied for sixth place overall.

"I was really happy for Scott, really proud for him," head coach Zac Zedrick said. "A top ten finish, tied for sixth in that field - I think it's just the start of what's going to come for him this year."

Cahill began the tournament by shooting 4 over par in the first round. He rebounded in the second round with a 2 under par effort, and shot even par on the last 18 holes to finish in the top ten with a 2 over par finish.

"It's optimistic to play well on a good golf course," Cahill said. "The field was great; there was a lot of good players. To finish sixth is rewarding for now, but we've got bigger goals moving forward."

Junior Jack Sparling tied for 33rd place, as he finished at 10 over par. Freshman Patrick Flavin finished tied for 37th place, shooting 12 over par. Senior Luke Shaughnessy and sophomore Jared Hammons placed 40th and 65th, respectively.

The 'Hawks began the tournament with a round of 298, as Shaughnessy led the 'Hawks with three birdies in the first round. Shaughnessy finished the round 3 over par. The second round was two strokes better for the Red and White, as they shot a team score of 296. Both Cahill and Shaughnessy led the 'Hawks with three birdies apiece. Cahill only bogeyed one hole.

The final round saw more improvement from the Red and White, as the 'Hawks shot 295 as a team. Freshman Patrick Flavin led the RedHawks with four birdies in the round, as he finished the round at even par.

Zedrick discussed the 'Hawks round-by-round improvement.

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"We're always just looking to play as well as we can," Zedrick said. "In the first round we were in a position to have a pretty good team score, we just gave away too many shots. It was good to back bounce [Sunday] afternoon … It was good to follow that up with a lower round [Monday]."

After Miami's first tournament, Zedrick said the team would need to be able to avoid bad stretches of holes.

"It was definitely better [this week]," Zedrick said. "There were much fewer stretches like that, they're still there though. It's still something we've got to clean up."

The 'Hawks have another short turnaround, as they compete in the Firestone Intercollegiate next Monday and Tuesday. The 'Hawks placed seventh in a field of 17 teams last fall at Firestone. Cahill, Sparling and Shaughnessy all competed in the event.