Kevin Miller

Golden Flashes head to Tennessee for B.O.T on Friday

DUBLIN, Ohio — The final hole on Tuesday spoiled what was an otherwise solid performance by the No. 30 Golden Flashes men's golf team this week at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational held at legendary Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.  Kent State placed fourth in the 12-team event that featured at least 10 teams ranked 55 or higher in both the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and the Golfstat.com.  

Kent State recorded a team score of 310 to finish the 54-hole tournament with a 885 (291-284-310) and one shot back of No. 23 Illinois.  No. 3 Texas claimed the team title with an 862 followed by Ohio State with an 878.

"We played poorly down the stretch and it cost us," said Kent State Director of Golf/Head Coach Herb Page, whose team dropped seven shots on the final hole.  "Overall it was a good showing against a strong field, but we certainly had more than a few shots out there on the course we'd like to get back."

Junior Kevin Miller (Dover, Ohio) had the low round of the day for the Golden Flashes posting a 74.  Miller, who had birdies on Nos. 7 and 9 today tied for 12th with a 219 (73-72-74).   

Sophomores Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ontario) and Kyle Kmiecik (Avon, Ohio) each shot a 77 while senior Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ontario) and freshman Nick Scott (Union, Ohio) each had an 82.  

Pendrith's score completed a 221 (75-69-77) as he took 16th for his seven career and third top 20 finish of the season.  Kmiecik (72-77-77) and Hughes (71-73-82) both total 226 and tied for 29th in the 60-man field.  Scott meanwhile tied for 40th with a 231 (79-70-82).  

Thomas Pieters of Illinois won the individual title with a seven-under 209 (66-71-72).  

"We have a quick turn around this week so it doesn't leave us a lot of time to work on the things we need to, but I think we can  get better," said Page.

Kent State is home for only a few days before heading to the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at Blackthorn Club on Friday, October 14.  The Golden Flashes then wrap up their fall schedule as they travel to Georgia for the United States Collegiate Oct. 23-25.

Follow the team on Twitter @KentStGolf.      

              Kent State          R1-R2-R3 = Total
T12      Kevin Miller            73-72-74 = 219
16        Taylor Pendrith       75-69-77 = 221
T29      Mackenzie Hughes  71-73-82 = 226
T29      Kyle Kmiecik          72-77-77 = 226
T40      Nick Scott             79-70-82 = 231

    Rk*    team          R1-R2-R3 = Total
1     3    Texas          299-276-287 = 862
2           Ohio State   286-288-304 = 878
3     23   Illinois        288-300-296 = 884
4     30   Kent State   291-284-310 = 885
5           UCLA           289-297-300 = 886
6     4     Arkansas     299-291-297 = 887
7     35   LSU            299-289-305 = 893
8     48   Purdue        305-297-292 = 894
9     31   TCU            298-299-303 = 900
10     5   Oklahoma St 296-304-303 = 903
11          North Carolina 301-305-307 = 913
12          Texas Tech    303-296-316 = 915
* rankings by golfstat.com