Mackenzie Hughes

Lone senior finishes tied for third as Golden Flashes place eighth

WAYZATA, Minn. — Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ontario) vaulted himself up the leaderboard moving up 10 places with a final round 70 on Monday at Spring Hill Golf Club in Minnesota to earn a tie for third place at the Gopher Invitational.  Behind the  play of its lone senior No. 32 Kent State took eighth in its season opening tournament.  

After starting the day with a bogey on hole No. 10, Hughes was virtually error free the rest of the afternoon on the par 72, 7,020-yard layout.  The 2011 Canadian Men's Amateur Champion made birdie on Nos. 16, 17 and 1 before stringing together eight straight pars to close out the round.  Tied for 13th at the start of the day, the performance pushed him up 10 places on the leaderboard and paced a one-over 217 (74-73-70) T3 finish.  

The play of Hughes also allowed the Golden Flashes to gain two places on the field.  Sitting alone in 10th and five shots back of Lamar through 36 holes, Kent State worked its way to an eighth place finish with a three-round team score of 898 (302-300-296).  

Fellow Canadian Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ontario) had his best round of the tournament on Monday as well shooting a one-under 71.  The sophomore, who had an eagle on the par 5, 540-yard third hole today finished tied for 18th with a 54-hole total of 223 (76-76-71).  

Rounding out the counters for Kent State were juniors Kevin Miller (Dover, Ohio) and Nathan Tarter (Mogadore, Ohio).  Miller closed with a 76 and ended tied for 29th with a 226 (75-75-76).  Playing in just his sixth collegiate tournament, Tarter meanwhile tied for 45th with a 232 (77-76-79) after his final round 79.  

Freshman Taylor Zoller (Charleston, S.C.) made his collegiate debut this weekend for the Golden Flashes placing 62nd overall with a three-round total of 239 (80-79-80).  

Arkansas claimed the team title with an 880 followed by North Texas (883) and Notre Dame (884).  Individual medalist honors went to Chris Brant of Iowa who finished three shoots in front of Hughes with a 214 that included a final round 69. Iowa's Barrett Kelpin took second (215) while Lamar's Kevin Hesbois matched Hughes with a 217.  

Kent State now takes a week off from competition before returning to the course on Sept. 26-27 at the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio.     

        Kent State    R1 - R2 - R3 = Total
T3     Mackenzie Hughes     74 - 73 - 70 = 217
T18   Taylor Pendrith     76 - 76 - 71 = 223
T29   Kevin Miller     75 - 75 - 76 = 226
T45   Nathan Tarter     77 - 76 - 79 = 232
62     Taylor Zoller     80 - 79 - 80 = 239

                 team    R1 - R2 - R3 = Total
1           Arkansas    290 - 291 - 299 = 880
2          North Texas    294 - 296 - 293 = 883
3           Notre Dame    282 - 295 - 308 = 885
4           SMU    294 - 294 - 304 = 892
5           Charlotte    296 - 291 - 306 = 893
6           Iowa     294 - 295 - 306 = 895
7           Liberty     300 - 293 - 303 = 896
8           Kent State    302 - 300 - 296 = 898
9           Penn State    299 - 304 - 297 = 900
10           Lamar    304 - 293 - 306 = 903
11           Minnesota    295 - 297 - 315 = 907
12           Houston     304 - 301 - 306 = 911
13           Wisconsin     304 - 317 - 320 = 941
14           Santa Clara     316 - 328 - 312 = 956