Monday was a banner day for K-State golf as sophomore Matt Green won the team’s tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
Green’s victory took place at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational. His victory was the first for the Wildcats since 2012. He played 1-under par on Monday, bringing his total 3-under. His closest competition was freshman Chase Johnson of Kent State, who finished at 1-under.
Sophomores Connor Knabe and Seth Smith along with freshman Trent Evans all had their best rounds of the tournament in round three. Evans was 11-over after his 1-over score on Monday. That tied him for 35th.
Smith played even in his last trip around the course, staying at 11-over for the tournament. He tied for 40th. Sophomore Hank Simpson was 10 strokes behind Smith and he tied for 61st.
Knabe rounded out the score card for the Wildcats at 22-over par. He decreased his number of strokes in each round of the tournament, but still finished 63rd.
After sitting in 11th going into the final round, K-State had the second best total score of the day. They were just 4-over par on the day. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it was only enough to bring them up to 8th place. Ohio State won the tournament by 12 strokes over Purdue.
The K-State women’s golf team sits in second after the first day of the Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbia, Missouri. They are in striking distance of Missouri, who leads them by three strokes.
“Coach (Stewart Burke) and I are very pleased with the ladies and their level of play today,” head coach Kristi Knight said. “Just their level of commitment and focus today. They did a nice job.”
The Wildcats have two players in the top five heading into their final round. Senior Carly Ragains is tied for second after a great second round. She played even on her first trip around the course, but was 5-under on the second. She is two strokes back from the lead.
Freshman Connie Jaffrey was in first place after her first round, but was 1-over in her second. That moved her into a tie for fourth place.
Senior Olivia Eliasson and sophomore Madison Talley sit one stroke apart, just outside of the top 10.
Eliasson leads her teammate at 1-under and Talley was even in both of her rounds.
Sophomore Katherine Gravel-Coursol and junior Scotland Preston brought up the rear for K-State. Gravel-Coursol is at 6-over par and tied for 34th. Preston is playing as an individual and sits at 8-over. She is tied for 44th in the tournament.
The Johnie Imes Invitational will resume at 8:15 a.m. today.
