Ohio traveled to Kettering, Ohio, for the Dayton Flyer Invitational Monday and Tuesday, finishing ninth at +38.
In the first round, the team finished eight over par and tied for fifth. Senior Nathaniel Gray Lamont and freshman Jack Flores led the way, both finishing one over par. Gray Lamont started strong, shooting one under on the front nine with three birdies, including back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven. On the back, excluding a double bogey on the 15th hole, he finished with six pars, a birdie and a bogey.
Flores shot an even par front nine, finishing the final six holes with a birdie and five straight pars. He continued his momentum on the back. He started with six pars and a birdie before finishing with bogeys on holes 16 and 18.
Senior Will Kates followed behind them with two over par. Kates started with a birdie on the first, before having bogeys on the third and fifth holes. Making the turn, he bogeyed the 12th before picking up five straight pars on holes 13-17. Following closely behind was senior Jack O’Donnell, at four over. He finished two over on both nines with three birdies, four bogeys, a double bogey and ten pars.
Falling two strokes back came senior Carson Trafford at six over. He finished the front with five straight pars, but a rough start hindered this run, as he bogeyed three of the first four holes. On the back, he started with a par and three consecutive bogeys on holes 11-14 before paring the final five holes.
Rounding out the group was independent grad student Sam Hall at nine over par. Hall had a great front nine, shooting two over with three bogeys, a birdie and five pars, before struggling on the back with five bogeys and a double bogey.
The Bobcats took a step back in the second round, finishing +17. Kates led the team at one over par, highlighted by an even front nine with two birdies, two bogeys and five pars. Gray Lamont followed three strokes back at four over par.
He struggled at the front with a bogey on the first and a double bogey on the ninth. The middle holes served him better, where he picked up six pars and a birdie on the fifth. Two double bogeys on the back cost him a solid round as he finished with three birdies, a bogey and three pars.
Hall followed at five over with a solid round on both nines, including six pars on the front and five pars and a birdie on the back. At six over par came Trafford and O’Donnell. Excluding a triple bogey on the sixth, Trafford had a solid front nine with a birdie, two bogeys and five pars. He continued the momentum with two birdies and bogeys on the 11th and 15th.
O’Donnell had a strong front nine, finishing two over with seven pars and two bogeys, while continuing his solid play with two bogeys, a double bogey and six pars. Rounding out the group was Flores at +12.
In the final round, Ohio dropped four strokes, finishing +13 in ninth place. Flores highlighted the round, shedding ten strokes from round two to finish two over, featuring an even back nine with two birdies and five pars.
Finishing three over par came Kates and Trafford. Kates struggled on the first nine with two double bogeys before turning it around on the back. He shot one under with three birdies and four pars. Trafford played well; he finished one over on the front with five pars, a birdie and two bogeys on holes one and five, then shot two over on the back with three bogeys.
O’Donnell followed closely behind at five over par, highlighted by a one under front nine with back-to-back birdies on holes two and three. He bounced back on the ninth with a birdie after back-to-back bogeys on holes seven and eight.
Hall was eight over par, and he had a great front nine, shooting one over par with a birdie, six pars and two bogeys before struggling on the back with four bogeys and a triple bogey on the 16th. Rounding out the group came Gray Lamont at nine over par, where three double bogeys came back to haunt him.
Individually, Flores led the way for Ohio, +2 tied for 18th, while tying for 11th on average score on par 3s at +1 (3.08). At +3, tied for 24th came Trafford and Kates, where Kates finished tied for ninth in birdies with 10 and tied for tenth in average score on par 4s at +2 (4.06). Tied for 41st came O’Donnell at +5, followed by Hall tied for 63rd at +8 and Gray Lamont at +9 tied for 67th.
Ohio will look to turn the tide in the spring as they head to Montgomery, Texas, Feb. 9-10 for Sam Houston State’s Bentwater Intercollegiate.
