Ohio wrapped up play in the Firestone Invitational Tuesday on the second-straight frost-delayed day in Akron.
Play resumed after a 90-minute delay Tuesday with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. where the Bobcats began an effort reminiscent of their day-one finish — making their rounds at Firestone North on their way to a17th-place finish.
“The delays threw us out of our routine,” Ohio senior Byron Firestone said. “It was 38 degrees in the mornings and the delays forced us to stand around and freeze up.”
The Bobcats turned in a team score of 306 in the second round, giving them a two-round total of 613.
Senior Brad Lucas turned in Ohio’s lowest score with a two-round mark of 150, which was good enough to finish tied for41st place amongst all participants.
Firestone showed the best improvement from Monday’s performance, shaving two strokes off his 18-hole score of 77 to move himself into a tie for 51stin the tournament.
Junior Connor Coldwater, freshman Brad Burgess and senior Michael Lamping carded scores of 155, 158 and 159, respectively.
“Our performance was not up to our standards,” Firestone said. “We had trouble scoring because the course was very tough from tee to green.”
Ball State won the invitational, turning a collective 569 — the tournament’s only score under par.
The Cardinals were led by junior Tyler Merkel, who shot a four-under 140, while Maryland junior Sean Bosdosh turned in a tournament-low 139.
Firestone said the Bobcats have to hit greens more consistently to be competitive.
"We need to work on our ball striking,” he said. “Ball State’s course is very demanding off the tee and you have to hit greens to score well.”
The Bobcats will compete next in the Ball State Individuals in Muncie, Ind. beginning Oct. 15.
tj790511@ohiou.edu
