APSU Men’s Golf
Muncie, IN – Shooting the second round’s second best score in trying low-40 degree weather conditions, Austin Peay State University men’s golf team vaulted from an 11th-place tie to fifth during Saturday’s competition at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, being played at the Delaware Country Club.
The 54-hole tournament will conclude, Sunday, with the final 18 holes on the par-70 and 6,438-yard layout.
During Saturday’s second round the Governors got a strong showing from both its No. 4 and 5 players as it rallied from a morning-round 383 to shoot 368 to sit at 751. Host Ball State is running away with the tourney, sitting at 726 (354-372) while Northern Illinois and Bowling Green (365 second round) are tied for second at 745, with Marshall third at 748.
Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Kentucky, which APSU was tied with after the first round, is now in ninth place after a second-rounded 379 (762 total). Future league foe SIU Edwardsville is seventh at 755.
“The conditions were absolutely brutal-25 miles-per-hour winds; it was cold, raining and cloudy all day,” APSU coach Kirk Kayden said. “The guys were freezing but they really hung in there.”
APSU received continued strong performances from its top three players. Sophomore Dustin Korte compiled pair of three-over 73s to sit in an 11th-place tie at 146, while freshmen Anthony Bradley (73-74=147) and Marco Iten (77-71=148) followed closely behind. In fact, Iten’s one-over 71 tied for the second round’s second lowest score.
Meanwhile, junior Drew Miller, playing in only his second tourney this season, improved his first-round 78 to a second-round 76. However, the major improvement came from freshman Trey Tarpley, who battled back from a first-round 82 to a four-over 74 in the afternoon.
Freshman Alasdair MacLennan, also in only his second tourney, could not get anything going, shooting a 167 (83-85).
“We finally got some good scores from the fourth and fifth man,” Kayden said. “Drew shot a 76 and Trey shot a 74 (in the second round), which under these conditions was really good. It was exciting to see them come through under such adversity. We’ve been looking for some consistency this spring from the fourth and fifth guy. We need those 74 and 73s from those guys in order for us to be a good team.
“Marco had a phenomenal (second round) for these conditions. In the wind and the rain, it was just a great job for all these guys. We made birdies when we needed to and it was excellent to see us improve. I could tell that our confidence was building under those adverse conditions.”
Iten, in fact, failed to record a birdie in the opening round, which including four bogeys and one double. But he bounced back with four birdies in the second round to help offset five bogeys.
Korte’s second round could have been even better if not for a near-disastrous No. 2 hole. Starting on No. 5, Korte stood at one-under par entering his round’s 16th hole, but he had a quadruple bogey to move him to three over. He kept his composure on the final two holes to remain at three over.
A pair of double bogeys and two bogeys counterbalanced a trio of birdies for Bradley in the first round, but he could only muster a pair of birdies in the second round.
