The Bobcats traveled to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the Purdue Fall Invitational, where the team finished in 12th place at +29.
In the first round, the Bobcats finished nine over par, tied for ninth. Senior Will Kates led the way, finishing at even par with a birdie, seven pars and a bogey on the front before adding two birdies, two bogeys and five pars on the back nine.
Senior Carson Trafford followed two shots behind at two over, shooting even par on the front with a birdie on the sixth and a bogey on the eighth, and seven pars while continuing his solid play, excluding the double bogey on the 11th and bogey on the 18th. He also had five pars and a birdie on the 15th.
Finishing three over par was senior Jack O’Donnell. O’Donnell had a solid front nine, starting with back-to-back bogeys on holes 1 and 2 before settling down with two birdies, four pars and a bogey on the ninth. On the back half, he had three bogeys, a birdie and five pars.
Senior Nathaniel Gray Lamont followed at four over with a great front nine with two birdies, a double bogey, a bogey and five pars. Rounding the bend, he added three more bogeys and six pars. Rounding out the group was freshman Rylan Hall at nine over par. Excluding a triple bogey on the fifth, he had a great front nine with seven pars and a bogey.
In the second round, Ohio finished in 11th place at eight over par. Trafford continued to put on a show for the Bobcats, finishing four under par with three birdies and six pars. He continued his great play with three straight birdies on holes 14-16, with two bogeys and four pars on the back.
Following Trafford came Kates, O’Donnell and Hall, all finishing four over par. Kates and O’Donnell both finished with strong front nines, shooting even par with two birdies, two bogeys and five pars before they both finished with four bogeys and five pars on the back nine.
Hall had a great round, excluding a double bogey on the fifth, finishing with a birdie, two bogeys and 13 pars. Falling one stroke back came Gray Lamont, who had a strong front nine, shooting one under with a birdie on the fourth hole and eight pars before picking up four bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine.
The Bobcats finished the final round at +12, finishing the tournament in 12th place. Trafford continued to turn heads in the final round, finishing one over. He continued to look great on the front nine, shooting one under with five birdies, including four straight on holes four through seven. Coming down the home stretch, excluding a double bogey on the 16th, he had seven pars and a bogey.
Two strokes back came O’Donnell and Gray Lamont. O’Donnell got off to a slow start with three bogeys on the first five holes before picking up momentum with three pars and a birdie on the eighth. He came into the back adding two bogeys on holes 10 and 12 before finishing strong with five pars and a birdie on the 17th.
As for Gray Lamont, he picked up four straight bogeys on holes four through seven but turned it around, finishing the front with two pars and continuing his solid play onto the back with four straight pars, two birdies on holes 13 and 15 and a bogey on the 18th.
Two strokes back was Kates at five over, where he had a strong even front nine with a birdie, bogey and seven pars before adding three bogeys, a double bogey and five pars on the back nine. Rounding out the group was Hall at six over par with a double bogey, five bogeys, a birdie and eleven pars.
Trafford led the team at one under, tied in 11th while placing second in average score on par threes at one under (2.92), and tied for seventh in birdies with 13. Kates followed, tied in 49th at nine over, followed closely by O’Donnell at ten over par, tied for 52nd. Gray Lamont came two strokes back at +12, tied for 58th, and rounding out the group came Hall in 74th at +19.
The team will look to keep its great momentum going as it travels to Toledo for next week’s Dayton Flyer Invitational.
jh269721@ohio.edu
