Kent State University
Mid-American Conference Championship
Kent State Earns MAC Co-Championship as Rain Washes Away Final Round
4/28/2019 1:10:00 PM | Men's Golf
AURORA, Ohio- With the anticipation for a final round battle on Sunday between Kent State and Eastern Michigan for the 2019 Mid-American Conference title, unfortunately, the heavy rains overnight forced the cancellation of Sunday's round at the Club Walden Course. This is the Flashes' 26th MAC title, their 11th in the last 12 seasons.
Kent State and Eastern Michigan share the team championship, however, the Flashes earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships due to a tiebreaker. Kent State won the cumulative total of the non-counting score by three, 154-151.
Yesterday, the Kent State men's golf team put together a strong second round that tied the Flashes for the lead. Eastern Michigan held a six-stroke lead after round one, but the Flashes rallied to fire a 7-under 281 that closed the Eagles' gap. The Flashes put up a tournament total of 5-over 581 (300-281).
All five of Kent State's golfers shot an under-par score for their second round and had four players finish in the top-10. Led by Gisli Sveinbergsson, Sveinbergsson mirrored his first round total of 1-under in the second round and finished second overall for the tournament at 2-under 142. Sveinbergsson was also named to the All-Tournament team.
Will Kurtz finished tied for third with an even-par 144 after he fired a 1-under 71 in the second round. Kurtz birdied on six holes in round two and led the tournament with 10 birdies through 36-holes. Kurtz was the second member of the Kent State squad to be named to the All-Tournament team.
Bjarki Petursson and Chris Doody both finished tied for ninth at 4-over 148 for the tournament. Petursson went 17 holes for par or better with three birdies for a 2-under 70 score. Doody also carded a 2-under 70 score with the help of four birdies. The junior birdied on three-straight holes before he birdied on the par-4 No. 12 hole.
Josh Gilkison was subbed into the second round and carded a bogey-free 2-under 70 score. Gilkison birdied his first hole and the sixth hole before finishing the round with 11-straight pars.
The Flashes will move on to the NCAA Regional Tournament May 13-15. The 2019 regional sites are Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash.; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.; TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, S.C.; University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky.; University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.; and University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas. Kent State will find out the seed and destination during the selection show, airing Wednesday, May 1 at 9 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel.
Players Mentioned
