Any golfer can tell you that if you putt poorly, it can throw off the rest of your game. That conundrum is exactly what plagued Ohio during the Marshall Invitational this week.
The Bobcats were able to finish the tournament on a much better note Tuesday than they did in their first two rounds, completing their day eight strokes fewer than their best round Monday.
Still, Ohio finished fifteenth in the 16-team field, jumping only one spot from the previous day.
“I’m a little disappointed with how we played the last couple days,” said coach Bob Cooley. “We struck the ball pretty (well,) but we putted too poorly to compete with the other schools. We just weren’t used to the green speed that Guyan (Country Club) has. It’s much faster than our practice course.”
Ohio fared better than it did the previous day, improving their 18-hole stroke total from Monday’s 296- and 299-stroke outings. Its performance was good enough for fifth place on the day.
For Ohio, senior Byron Firestone had the best 54-hole score, totaling 217 strokes — four over par. Seniors Brad Lucas and Michael Lamping also filed decent scores, earning 223 and 224 marks, respectively.
Virginia Tech was the tournament’s obvious front-runner, as the next closest opponent, Ohio State, was 17 strokes off its pace. The hosts — Miami, Toledo and Western Kentucky — rounded out the Top Five.
Despite his team’s low finish, Cooley remains optimistic about its future, especially considering their more positive play Tuesday.
“I still feel good about the team,” he said. “I saw some positive things and we played a lot better on Tuesday. We’ll get better.”
tj790511@ohiou.edu
