Millersville University
Brown Intercollegiate Invitational
Men’s golf opens spring at the BrownGolf Intercollegiate
3/16/2019 6:35:00 PM | Men's Golf
Pinehurst, N.C. – After a rough first round, the Millersville University men's golf team finished its first spring tournament, the BrownGolf Intercollegiate Invitational in a tie for ninth place. All rounds were played at the Foxfire Resort & Golf Red Fox course.
The Marauders finished with a 626 total and posted its lowest team score of 311 in the second round. Millersville tied with one of its conference foes, West Chester. Wayne State won the invitational with a score of 588. Saint Thomas Aquinas' Shkelqim Kukaj won the individual medalist with a 4-under 140, shooting two 2-under 70's.
TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS
• Matt Spak started the week off with a 7-over 79 in the first round, getting the winter kinks out. Spak sparked a low second round, shooting a 2-over 74 which secured him a top-20 finish with a score of 153. Spak's second round included an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole with birdies on the par-5 12th and 5th. Spak was 1-under through eight holes starting at the par-4 10th.
• In his fourth time at this golf tournament, Matt Keim shot an opening round 82 on Friday before dropping the next day with a 3-over 75. Keim concluded the weekend in a tie for 40th, jumping 20 spots in thanks to his 75. In Saturday's round, Keim was even through his first nine holes, recording an even-par 36 on the front.
• Joining Keim in the tie for 40th was teammate Corey Betham who posted rounds of 79 (+7) and 78 (+8). Betham went 1-over in his front nine holes. Betham recorded two birdies on the week, both in the first round.
• Brady Erb totaled a 163 on the weekend, earning an opening 7-over 79 but then fell five strokes in the final round to shoot a 84. Erb finished in a tie of 56th with his teammate Christopher Knox who posted his collegiate debut this weekend. Knox led the team after day one in a tie for 30th with a 5-over 77 before carding an 86 in the final round.
ASSISANT COACH CONNOR SHEEHAN QUOTES
• "After the first round, we cleared some stuff up and changed the game plan on different holes that we struggled on. We really focused on starting and finishing better. It is a short week to find your game. We knew we would have some bumps and bruises and some rough swings coming in but we played overall pretty good."
• "[Matt Spak] was great this week. He was great off the tee. His putter was on and was reading greens well. The speed was a little slower than yesterday. He could have definitely improved as he left some shots out there but he played well."
• "After they saw the course for a while, we realized it was not working and had to change some stuff. Each player played the course differently. Going into the next tournament we are going to have to work hard, solidify our games while staying in ourselves and shoot good scores."
• "I think Knox did just what I would expect from a freshman in his first event. He struggled today but overall things went well and we can take things with us as he tries to make the starting lineup. He has a great swing; it is the matter of getting the reps in and getting the experience."
NOTES
• Spak carded four birdies on the weekend with Erb came one shy of his teammate.
• Spak improved by 13 shots from last year's opening round en route to a tie for 32nd place finish. Spak shot the same score that he did in last year's final round. Spak's eagle was the third eagle of the tournament on that ninth hole.
• The par-5 12th hole was the hardest in round one, having an average to par of 0.75. In round two it was the par-4 second which had a 0.77 average relative to par.
UP NEXT
• The Marauders have two weeks to prepare for the Oglebay Resort Intercollegiate Invitational starting on Sunday, March 31.
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Players Mentioned
