Men’s golf cards lowest finish of the season

The University of Richmond men’s golf team tied for sixth place in the Sea Palms Invitational in St. Simons Island, Ga., its lowest finish of the season. 

Prior to this tournament, the Spiders had held steady, placing top five in all their matchups for the season. Richmond had a month to prepare for the tournament after grabbing first in the Loyola Intercollegiate Feb. 16 to 18 with a 29-under-par. 

The Spiders tied with Francis Marion University, tallying a team score of 6-over-par. Richmond held third for round one and two, while Francis Marion trailed in seventh and ninth. However, the Spiders recorded their highest score of the tournament in the third round, dropping them to sixth on the last day. 

Round one put the Spiders in a solid position, only one shot behind the second place Davidson College. Senior Patrick Isztwan paced the Spiders 5-under-par. He was even on the front nine after recording bogeys on hole one and five. Excelling on the back, Isztwan carded five birdies for a 66 for the round, tying him for 4th individually. 

The other Spiders were locked in big group ties, first-year Carson Baez in a nine-way tie for 18th followed by senior Cole Ekert and sophomore Jack LaPiana in a 13-way tie for 27th. 

As a team, Richmond tallied nine more shots in round two than round one, leaving it 3-under-par. Despite the setback, the Spiders kept their grasp on third place. Drexel University jumped from seventh to fourth, only trailing Richmond by one stroke. Isztwan continued to lead the Spiders, but faced challenges. 

Although he carded a birdie on hole one, righting his bogey in round one, he picked up three bogeys and a double bogey on the course, leaving him 1-over-par. While Isztwan fell to sixth place and Baez fell to 43rd, Ekert improved to 14th. Baez faced a difficult back nine, carding four bogeys. 

The third round proved to be the most difficult for Richmond, recording a score of 293. 

“It was one of those days where not much went right,”  Head Coach Adam Decker said in a statement following the tournament.

Ekert, who usually leads the Spiders, struggled the most with seven bogeys and a double bogey. Richmond fell from third to sixth as its score gradually increased over the rounds. 

Isztwan claimed the highest individual placement for UR, his 2-under-par finish earning a tie for 11th. 

“Patrick [Isztwan] was solid all week,” Decker said. “I’m really proud of his effort and composure in difficult conditions today.”

The rest of the team trailed with score over par, junior Drew Carlin suffering the highest score of 15-over-par, giving him 98th place. 

The Spiders only have two tournaments until the Atlantic 10 Championships April 22 to 24. Richmond will return to Georgia April 5 and 6 for the Haskins Award Invitational hosted by Augusta University. 

“Obviously, it was a bad finish and we need to use it as motivation for the remaining events of the regular season, as well as the A-10 tournament,” Decker said. “We still have a really strong team and the focus will be on preparing for the next event in Augusta, Ga. It’s ok to get knocked down a little bit, but how we respond from here will determine the path forward.” 

Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu.