MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State freshmen Luke Johnston and Samuel Harris continued to turn heads last week while capturing co-medalist honors at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational at Delaware Country Club. Johnston outlasted Harris in a four-hole playoff, after each of them set a new program record with 198 three-round scorecards in just the third college event of their careers.
For last week’s exploits, they were named Co-Golfers of the Week by the Mid-American Conference. In fact, they were one of three MAC tournament winners last week, all named as tri-golfers of the week, with Craig Long of Northern Illinois who won the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.
Johnston (65-64-69–198) won last week’s E.Y. Invitational by collecting a birdie on hole #11 to get past co-medalist Harris (65-66-67–198) and secure the individual title. Johnston also set a program record for the Cardinals’ lowest score ever (129) over 36 holes, through two rounds last Saturday. Together, Johnston and Harris helped Ball State to a team record for lowest score (813) in a 54-hole event.
Johnston led the event nearly wire-to-wire, until Harris shot two strokes better in the final round to force a tie. Both freshman parred the first three holes of the playoff before Johnston birdied the fourth hole for the win.
Harris, with his share of this week’s MAC Co-Golfers of the Week award, has earned the MAC’s weekly honor in two out of three weeks, after his second-place finish at the Golfweek Fall Challenge in South Carolina.
