The Bobcats finished the regular season on a high note at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational this weekend, as Ohio placed seventh out of 14 teams.
Ohio recorded its second top 10 finish of the spring season by wrapping up competition before the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Bobcats finished one stroke behind DePaul, which ended the tournament in sixth place.
The Bobcats finished in sixth place Saturday after the first 36 holes. Ohio shot a 365 in the second round for its lowest total of the tournament. Senior Paul Grauer, junior Byron Firestone and sophomore Connor Coldwater all tied for 14th place through the first day of competition. All three shot a 75 and a 72 in their first two rounds.
On Sunday, Ohio shot its highest round of the tournament, a 388, en route to moving back one spot on the leader board. Senior John Mlynarski said that despite the top 10 finish, it was not where Ohio wanted to end up.
“Overall, we’re kind of disappointed with how things turned out,” Mlynarski said. “Connor played pretty solid, and a couple of the other guys had some pretty solid rounds as well, but for the most part, compared to the other teams, we felt like we should have done a little bit better.”
Coldwater recorded the best finish for Ohio. He carded a 75 in the third round and ended in a tie for 16th place. Coldwater only dropped two places from his previous standing.
Grauer and Firestone shot identical scores throughout the weekend, and both finished in a tie for 22nd place. Both players dropped eight places from Saturday and shot their highest round of the tournament on Sunday.
Junior Michael Lamping shot a 75 on Sunday, his best round in the tournament and Ohio’s best of the day.
Mlynarski said that the short course this weekend should help the Bobcats’ short game for the MAC Championships, which is a long course and will require precise approach shots.
Ball State, the host of the Yestingsmeier Invitational and the only other MAC school in attendance, finished in third place.
The Bobcats will have a break until they compete in the MAC Championships from May 4-6 in DeKalb, Ill.
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Quick Stats
Bobcats finished in 6th after the first day.
Grauer, Firestone and Coldwater tied for 14th after the first day.
Lamping shot a 75 on Sunday.
Ohio finished 7th overall.
