Kent State University
Robert Kepler Intercollegiate
Flashes Look for Sixth Program Title at Robert Kepler Intercollegiate
4/7/2016 10:54:00 PM | Men's Golf
Kent State will compete for the fourth time in a month's span this weekend (April 9-10), at the 46th Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus. Hosted by Ohio State on the Scarlet Course, 16 teams will tee it up for the two-round tournament.
With cold and wet conditions expected, the format was changed to 36 holes. Saturday and Sunday's rounds will begin at 10:30 a.m., with a shotgun start on the par 71, 7,455-yard course. Live scoring is available at GolfStat.com.
"We love going down there," Head Coach Herb Page said of the Scarlet Course. "It's kind of like our second home course and our players always look forward to that."
The Rankings
After finishing in front of three teams ranked above them (Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech) at the Aggie Invitational, the Golden Flashes moved up three spots in Golfstat's rankings to No. 46 and No. 49 according to Golfweek. The next highest Mid-American Conference team is Bowling Green at No. 113.
"We've moved from 64 to 46 this year," Page said. "That's not where we want to be, but it shows we're improving and these young men are starting to believe in themselves."
The Competition
The 16-team field at this year's Kepler Intercollegiate features five Top 50 teams and 10 teams in the Top 90 according to Golfstat. The field includes: Bowling Green, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, No. 46 Kent State, No. 64 Liberty, No. 81 Maryland, No. 62 Michigan, No. 49 Michigan State, No. 55 Northwestern, No. 78 Ohio State, No. 29 Penn State, Southern Illinois, No. 37 UAB, No. 31 UNLV, West Virginia and Wright State.
Johnson and Flashes Perfecting Par Fives
Sophomore Chase Johnson led the entire field on par fives at the Aggie Invitational, going 9-under. As a team, Kent State went 22-under on par fives. The next best score on par fives was 14-under.
The Flashes also had the top team score on par fives at the General Hackler Championship, going 19-under.
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes ended the three-round Aggie Invitational tied for sixth. Kent State had the field's second best round of the day with a 2-under 286 Sunday.
Johnson finished one stroke off the lead with a 3-under 213. His 3-under 69 on Sunday tied for the best score of the round, helping Kent State to the second best team score of the day. Johnson's first round 2-under 70 was one stroke off the lowest score of the round. Johnson led the entire 15-team field at The Traditions Club with 14 birdies over three rounds. He also had an eagle in the final round.
No. 12 Oklahoma State won the team title with an even par 864.
Last Season & Tournament History
At last year's Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, Kent State finished in a tie for sixth place, shooting a 28-over 880. Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ontario) finished in 10th place, while Ian Holt (Stow, Ohio) came in 13th.
Kent State was also on the Scarlet Course in the fall of 2014 for the Jack Nicklaus Invitational. The Flashes finished fourth, led by a runner-up performance from Johnson, who was 1-under.KSU has won five Robert Kepler Intercollegiate tournaments with the most recent win coming in 2012. The following fall, Kent State went back to Columbus and won the Jack Nicklaus Invitational.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes will compete in their third consecutive Saturday-Sunday tournament April 16-17 at the Boilermaker Invitational in Lafayette, Ind.
