Simpsonville, Ky. – The Stetson University men's golf team never quite found its footing at in the second tournament of the fall season, finishing 16th in at the University of Louisville's Cardinal Intercollegiate tournament.
The Hatters opened play on Monday with their worst team round of the fall, and were never able to recover. Stetson finished the tournament with a three-round score of 924, one shot behind Southern Illinois and four behind New Orleans.
The host team from Louisville rallied in Tuesday's final round with a 289 to just edge past Louisiana-Monroe for the tournament title. The Cardinals finished the event with a score of 870, one better than the Warhawks. Cincinnati moved up three spots on the final day of play to finish third, seven shots off the pace.
The Hatters were led by sophomore Dirk Kuehler, who had a consistent performance with scores of 76-75-76=227, to finish tied for 39th. He had one two bad holes in the tournament, a double-bogey on the par 4 14th hole in the first round and a double on the par 4 fifth hole in the final round. He finished the tournament with eight birdies and 15 bogeys.
Junior Brian Kehoe finished tied for 49th with a total score of 229 after rounds of 76-78-75. He finished the event with 10 birdies, 16 bogeys, a pair of doubles and a triple.
Freshman Chase Levesque, who was making his collegiate debut in the tournament, tied for 67th with a score of 234. He opened the tournament with an 81 that included a triple and a double, but bounced back with rounds of 75 and 78.
Sophomore Zach Stark got off to a rough start with a birdie free round of 87 in the opening round, but came back with rounds of 75 and 77 to finish at 239.
Sophomore Eliott Azoulay never was able to get on track in the tournament, posting scores of 82-84-80=246 to tie for 83rd in the tournament.
Greg Smail of ULM and Patric Sundlof of Eastern Kentucky shared top individual honors in the tournament. Both finished with a five-under par score of 211 for the tournament, four shots ahead of a group of four other players. Smail made his move in the final round, posting a 69 to make up three shots on Sundlof.
The Hatters will not have much time to get back in a groove before their next event, which is scheduled for next week at LPGA International in the BCU Fall Invitational. Play will open in the tournament on Monday with 36 holes, followed by a final 18 holes on Tuesday.
