Men's Golf Opened 2024 Season at Illinois Wesleyan Invite

BLOOMINGTON, Ill . - The Illinois College men's golf team opened the 2024 season by participating in the two-day Illinois Wesleyan Invite on Friday and Saturday. The Blueboys sent two teams and opened the tournament at Weibring Golf Course and recorded a team scores of 323 and 324. On day two, both teams played Ironwood Golf Course and recorded team scores of 322 and 327.    

Day 1: Wiebring Golf Course

On the opening round, the Blueboys were led by Jarrett James with a six-over par 77. With a shotgun start and starting on hole 8, James recorded a one-over par on the first nine holes he faced. On the back nine, James collected a birdie on hole 15 which helped propel to the round of 77. James was closely followed by Peter Hauser and he fired a nine-over par 80. In the first nine holes, Hauser recorded a four-over par. On the final nine holes, Hauser carded three birdies on holes 14, 17, and 18. 

Also contributing to the team score of 324 was Ashton Sutton as he fired a seven-over par on his first nine holes. On the back nine holes, Sutton scored a five-over par that included a birdie on hole two. For the round, Sutton tallied eight pars. The final contributor to the team score of 324 was Cole Bartels. In the first nine holes, Bartels fired a five-over par and tallied a total of nine pars for the round. Additionally, Samuel Frericks fired a three-over in the final nine holes for a round of 87 that included eight pars.  

The second team of Blueboys was led by Dane Huber and Caden Tinsley with scores of 80 respectively. Huber collected a team-high 11 pars and was two-over par on the final nine holes while Tinsley tallied nine pars and five bogeys. One-stroke behind Huber and Tinsley was Andrew McKillip with a ten-over par 81. In his round, McKillip recorded a four-over par in the first nines hole. For the round, McKillip tallied nine pars and a birdie on hole 17. 

The Highland native in Bryce Knackstedt fired an 11-over par score of 82 where he recorded three birdies on holes 5, 6, and 11. Tobin Nell rounded out the second team with a 13-over par round of 84 that included four pars and two birdies.    

Day 2: Ironwood Golf Course

On day two, James and Bartels led the Blueboys with a five-over 77. James recorded a team-high 14 pars on two separate par streaks; five-in-a-row and eight-in-a-row that tallied to 13 pars in 14 holes. With the combination from day one, James recorded a tournament score of 154 with identical rounds of 77 that lead to a tie for 72nd overall. 

Bartels started his second round on hole 12 and went three-over on the first nine hole he saw. On the back nine holes, Bartels was locked in and fired a two-over par on the back nine holes for score of 77. In his round, Bartels fired 11 pars and two birdies. 

The Port Bryon native in Sutton had a solid round as he turned a nine-over 81. In his round, he recorded eight pars and a birdie on hole 13. Hauser started the second round on hole 11 with a par as he added four additional during the round for a score of 87. Frericks rounded the first team of Blueboys with a round of 90 that included six pars.

The second team of Blueboys was led by Tinsley with a seven-over 79 where he fired a two-over on the final nine holes. In his round, he recorded eight pars and two birdies that were on holes one and three. He was chased closely by McKillip with a nine-over par 81 that included 10 pars and a birdie on hole 16. 

Huber had a consistent round at Ironwood with splits of five-over for a round of 82 that included a birdie on hole 18. Knackstedt and Nell rounded out IC with identical rounds of 85 when both student-athletes tallied at least seven pars. 

The Blueboys will have one rest day before hosting the McNaughton Memorial on Monday, April 8 at the Jacksonville Country Club.