The men’s golf team battled inclement weather and secured two top-10 finishes following the final round Monday during the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate.
Sophomore Tim Tillmanns, who carded the team’s lowest weekend score, led the Wildcats. Tillmanns, aided by his tournament-low 68 on opening day, finished in third place with a 218.
Tillmanns’ opening round, followed by a second-day 73 from the sophomore, had him in a tie for first going into the final day. However, a 77 on Monday allowed for South Carolina Beaufort’s Dawson Peters and Chattanooga’s Connor Nolan to jump him and finish first and second, respectively.
“We had some solid scores today,” head coach Grant Robbins said in a release to K-State Athletics. “The conditions were extremely difficult with the cold and the wind, and I thought our guys did a good job of grinding through adversity. This was a great experience for us having to battle through the weather and course conditions, especially coming off such a long layoff. We have some things to work on, but we are looking forward to getting the spring season started in a couple weeks.”
Junior Will Hopkins also finished in the top 10 with a three-day score of 7-over, 223 earning him sixth place.
Despite the issues with the weather, Hopkins played consistently all weekend, with an opening day 75, followed by back-to-back 74’s.
Three of the remaining four K-State golfers who played over the weekend all tied for eleventh place.
Sophomore Riccardo Leo, sophomore Ryan Bender and senior George Clarke all finished at 13-over 229.
The efforts from those three guaranteed five K-State finishes in the top eleven. All three men played well on the final day, with Leo’s 1-over 73 being his best round of the week and securing the three-way tie for eleventh.
Freshman Luke O’Neill rounded out the team effort and finished 16-over 232. O’Neill finished sixteenth, confirming every member of the team finished in the top half of the field.
The next chance for the Wildcats to tee it up will be at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, February 14-16, at the Magnolia Groves Crossing Course in Mobile, Alabama.
