On March 24, the University of Idaho Vandals men’s golf team traveled to Eugene, Oregon, for the Duck Invitational. The event was held at the Eugene Country Club. The team closed out play at the Duck Invitational with an 11th-place finish, posting a 54-hole total of 889.
The competition the Vandals faced was the toughest of the season, as the event had 10 of the top 100 teams in the country, including no. 48 Cincinnati and no. 9 Illinois, who placed first.
Samuel Johnson led Idaho, tying for 23rd with a score of five-over par 218. Despite being over par, Johnson was consistent with his scoring, posting 71 in the first round, 73 in the second round and 74 in the third round.
Josh McCartain was the second top finisher for the team, tying for 32nd with a score of eight-over par after a disappointing second round where he went five-over with 76.
The rest of the finishers include Dalton Dean, Joe Sykes and Henrik Koglin, who placed 45th, 66th and 73rd, respectively. In total, the whole team went 56-over par with no individuals playing.
This was not the best performance of the season for the Vandals; however, there was very tough competition, and placing 11th was very good considering the number of top teams present at this event.
First-place finisher, Max Herendeen, who played as an individual from Illinois, went 11-under par. This goes to show how good the competition at this event was, since the Vandals’ top finisher, Johnson, ended with a score of five-over.
The next time the Vandals are back in action is March 30th, where they will be playing at the Redhawk Invitational, hosted by Seattle University in Chambers Bay, Washington.