Cardinal Intercollegiate Concludes; Falcons Place Eighth

Tuesday, September 21

Louisville, KY

All Day

Bowling Green State University

Cardinal Intercollegiate

September 21, 2010 | Men's Golf

Parker Hewit Finishes Tied for 15th; Best Finish of His Career

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communications Intern

TEAM LEADERBOARD -- PLAYER LEADERBOARD

COMBO LEADERBOARD (TEAM W/PLAYERS) -- COURSE STATS

Since earning a third place finish in the season-opening tournament, the Bowling Green State University men's golf team has faced one very simple and undeniable fact.

No matter how the team has played in its last two events, the effort has not translated to the final team standings.

Last week in West Virginia, the team put together one of its four best 54-hole team scores since the beginning of the 2006-07 season, yet the Falcons finished 13th out of 15 teams.

This week, Bowling Green traveled to Simpsonville, Ky. for the (Louiville) Cardinal Intercollegiate, a 54-hole event held at the par-72, 7,036-yard course at The Cardinal Club.

At the just-concluded event, the Falcons posted a cumulative score of 874 (285-291-298) over the tournament's two days; the score would have tied for the team's 3rd best for all of the 2009-10 season.

Despite finishing in the middle of the pack, placing eighth out of 16 teams, the finish does mark a noted improvement over the finish in West Virginia.

It should also be noted that the Falcons now have played eight straight team rounds with a sub-300 score; that's the team's longest streak since beginning last season with 11 such rounds in a row.

Another positive as the team looks toward the rest of the season is how the team competed against two of its conference foes. Despite trailing both Ball State and Northern Illinois in the final standings, Bowling Green made it very close.

The Falcons trailed NIU (872) by only two strokes and Ball State (869) by only five. BGSU led the Huskies and trailed the Cardinals by only one stroke after the first day.

The Falcons' other Mid-American Conference foe at this tournament, Miami, was the event champion with a final score of 857. Louisville, the tournament hosts, finished in a tie for fourth.

Among the teams finishing behind Bowling Green in the final team standings were Big Ten opponent Wisconsin (881) and Big East foe Cincinnati (902).

Individually, junior Parker Hewit led the Orange and Brown contingent throughout the tournament.

He led the Falcon group with a first-round 69 and followed that with rounds of 73 and 75 for a tournament total of 217. He finished in a tie for 15th place, seven shots behind the champion but only four out of the top five.

Hewit's score stands as his fourth-best 54 hole result in 25 career tournaments. His 15th place finish is his career best.

Fellow junior Drew Preston completed his tournament just behind Hewit in a tie for 21st place. His total of 218 included rounds of 71, 73 and 74. The score represents a tie for his third-best 54 hole score in 25 career tournaments. It is Preston's best 54-hole showing since a 216 in last year's Xavier Invitational.

Meanwhile, Wes Gates put together another solid tournament. Helped by his five-under-par score on the course's group of par fives, Gates carded a three-round total of 220 (71-74-75).

Since putting up double 77s to start his sophomore season, Gates has averaged 72.86 over his last seven rounds.

Freshman Chris Melvin continues to put up very consistent numbers. His 54-hole total of 223 included rounds of 73 and 74. In the last eight rounds of his season to date, Melvin has seven rounds of 74 or better and is averaging a solid 72.63 per round.

Rounding out the Orange and Brown lineup for the week, sophomore Charlie Olson slipped in the third round, putting up an 85 for the day. However, Olson contributed to the Falcon cause, scoring a team-best 72 in the second round and also securing a 74 in the first round on Monday.

The individual tournament medalist was Aaron Boggs of Marshall (210). The leader after the first day, Matt Stasiak of Miami, posted a final round of 80. That dropped him to 218 and a tie for 21st.

Bowling Green will now return home to host the John Piper Intercollegiate next Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 27-28). After that, the Falcons will rest for two weeks before having to travel again.

A complete preview of the John Piper tournament will be available later this week right here on BGSUFalcons.com.