Kent State University
Aggie Invitational
Johnson Finishes Third; Flashes Tie for Sixth at Aggie Invitational
4/3/2016 5:48:00 PM | Men's Golf
BRYAN, Texas - Kent State had the field's second best round of the day with a 2-under 286 Sunday to close out the Aggie Invitational at The Traditions Club. The Golden Flashes ended the three-round tournament tied for sixth, while sophomore Chase Johnson (Barberton, Ohio) finished one stroke off lead with a 3-under 213.
"Today showed us that we can compete with teams all the way to the top," Head Coach Herb Page said. "It could have been an even better day. We need to finish the round better."
Johnson went 3-under for the day and caught fire during a string of 11 holes, where he was 6-under. During that span, he claimed the Flashes only eagle of tournament on the fifth hole.
"Chase was 248 yards away on his second shot and put a 2-iron two feet from the hole," Page said of the eagle. "He had a great weekend and that hole really got our round jumpstarted."
For the second straight day, Johnson and the Flashes were nearly flawless on par 5 holes. Kent State led the field going 22-under on par fives. The next best team was 14-under.
"We have a strong long game," Page said. "There was no doubt about that this weekend. We hit some quality shots on par fives."
Junior Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ontario) also found success on No. 5, with birdies in all three rounds of the Flashes' favorite hole. Whalen was even for the day, before losing three strokes on the final two holes. His 6-over 222 placed him tied for 20th.
Sophomore Ian Holt (Stow, Ohio) also birdied hole five and shot an even par Sunday. Holt's 8-over 224, put him in a tied for 26th place.
Freshman Gisli Sveinbergsson (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) had a pair of birdies on par fives on the way to a 2-under 70 on Sunday. Sveinbergsson finished tied for 32nd on the weekend with a 225.
"Gisli had a really nice round today," Page said. "It was good to see him bounce back."
No. 12 Oklahoma State won the team title with an even par 864. OSU's Kristoffer Ventura and of Alvaro Ortiz of Arkansas each finished 4-under, putting Johnson in third place.
"We competed hard and beat three teams ranked ahead of us, but the way we got there was frustrating at times," Page said. "We could have finished in the top three. We're getting better, but we can't have ugly rounds and we've got to figure out how to finish every round strong."
Kent State returns to action April 9-10 at the Robert Kepler Invitational in Columbus.
