Kent State University
Robert Kepler Intercollegiate
Flashes Finish in Top Half of Field at Robert Kepler Intercollegiate
4/10/2016 8:36:00 PM | Men's Golf
COLUMBUS - For the second straight tournament, Kent State sophomore Chase Johnson (Barberton, Ohio) finished one shot off the lead at the 46th Robert Kepler Intercollegiate Saturday and Sunday on Ohio State's Scarlet Course. As a team, the Golden Flashes finished two strokes out of the top five, tying for seventh place with a 31-over 599.
"It was among the worst weather tournaments I've ever been a part of," Head Coach Herb Page said. "But I give everyone here at the course and all the players credit…we got it in."
Johnson shot a 1-over 72 Sunday to go 3-over for the tournament with a fourth place finish. He worked his way through cold and windy conditions Sunday for two birdies and just three bogeys.
Sophomore Ian Holt (Stow, Ohio) was two strokes behind Johnson in 10th place with a 5-over 147. Holt started his round Sunday with a birdie, but a double bogey on Saturday kept him out of contention for the lead.
Freshman Gisli Sveinbergsson (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) shot a 75 both days, for an 8-over 150. Sveinbergsson tallied three birdies on Saturday, despite snow that forced three separate tournament stoppages.
"Our top three (Johnson, Sveinbergsson, Holt) had a good tournament," Page said. "Gisli just made a few mistakes. We needed better showings from the four and five spots. Our fifth player hasn't scored for us in a long time."
For the third time this spring, Kent State led the field on par five holes, going 8-under in two rounds. Johnson, Sveinbergsson and Holt each went 3-under on par fives.
UNLV won the tournament crown with an 18-over 586.
"We were only five shots out of fourth," Page said. "But we must get better. And I know these guys can get better. You could hardly see through the snow yesterday and today was really cold and windy, but it was the same for everybody."
With the Mid-American Conference Championships quickly approaching at the end of the month, Kent State will take part in the Boilermaker Invitational April 16-17.
