Ohio traveled to Kettering, Ohio, on Monday and Tuesday for Dayton’s Fall Invitational. The team is coming off a second-place finish in Western Michigan’s Bronco Fall Classic, where it shot a 929 (+65).
The Bobcats dominated the early round on Monday, shooting a collective +14 (294) in which the team racked up 14 birdies.
Five birdies came from junior Mackenzie McRee, who shot an impressive 69 (-1) for the round, including a 31 on the back nine, where she shot par or better on all nine holes.
Not too far behind her was sophomore Zoe Leubbers, who finished with a 71, including a 34 on the back nine, finishing with a birdie to give her a 71 (+1). The team ended the first round in first place.
The Bobcats struggled in the second round, shooting 307 (+27). Freshman independent Saylor Whariff and junior Sydney Longstreth highlighted the round for Ohio.
Whariff had a fantastic front nine, shooting one under par (34), but struggled on the back nine with a 42 (+6). Longstreth had a solid front nine, shooting a 38 (+3), including a birdie on hole six, before finishing with a nice even par on the back nine, including two birdies on holes 12 and 17.
The Bobcats finished round two in second with a 307.
In the final round, the Bobcats continued to struggle. Sophomores Morgan Rodgers and Zoe Leubbers led the way in a challenging round.
Rodgers had a great front nine, posting a birdie on hole five with a 36 (+1) before picking up five bogeys on the back nine, posting a 40 (+5) for a total of 76 (+6).
Leubbers had a consistent final round, picking up a birdie on the front and back nine. She finished with a 77 (38 on the front and 39 on the back). The Bobcats finished with a 315 (+35), finishing the day in third behind Butler and Akron.
The Bobcats' final individual rankings included McRee, who finished tied for fourth at +15 (225). Next followed Leubbers, who finished 16th with a +20 (230), then Rodgers, in 18th with a consistently improving score of +21 (231). Subsequently, Longstreth came in 22nd, finishing +24 (234). Finally, rounding out the group were Whariff in 35th (+29) and senior Thanya Arasu in 37th with a +31.
Looking into the numbers, the Bobcats finished three places ahead of No. 49-ranked Glenville State, who placed sixth behind Dayton and Toledo.
The Bobcats as a team shot the best average score on par fours (4.37) and made the most birdies with 24 while placing fifth in average score on par threes (3.65) and par fives (5.3).
The Bobcat's next tournament will be UNC-Greensboro’s Advance Golf Partners Collegiate three-day tournament Feb. 9th-11th in Palm City, Florida.
jh269721@ohio.edu
