In a back-and-forth affair, the Mizzou men’s golf team took second place at the Jackrabbit Invitational at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska, from Sept. 25-27. After South Dakota State and Clemson both shot out to early leads, the Tigers were able to rally and finish as the runner-up behind Clemson.
The first round was scheduled to get underway on Sunday. However, due to the strong winds in Valentine — gusts reached 44 mph — it was delayed until Monday. Rounds two and three were played Tuesday to accommodate the delay.
Mizzou chose to start seniors Will Echelmeier, Euan Walker and Linus Lilliedahl, along with junior Trevor Ullestad and sophomore Preston Fleenor. Freshman Rory Franssen competed in the tournament as an individual.
After round one, Mizzou sat in third place behind host school South Dakota State, which fired an opening round of -13, and nationally ranked No. 13 Clemson, which started the tournament -9. As a team, Mizzou recorded 283 strokes, good for -5.
Walker and Franssen both fired strong opening rounds, with each player recording a 68 on the scorecard. Clemson freshman Doc Redman, in just his fourth collegiate round, impressed early and pulled away from the field, firing an opening-round 63 and taking the individual lead.
In the second round, Missouri continued to climb the leaderboard, shooting -3 and recording 285 strokes. The Tigers still trailed South Dakota State, which led at -13, but were just a single stroke behind Clemson at -10. Individually, Walker, Franssen and Ullestad all recorded a round of 71. Fleenor was not far behind, recording his second round of 73 for the tournament.
In round three, Mizzou used a fast start to pass South Dakota State and take the lead over Clemson on hole 12. The two went back and forth throughout, exchanging the lead on many holes in the final round. Mizzou shot -10 through 12 holes, taking a one-stroke lead over Clemson.
Despite the strong run in the final round, Mizzou ended up with a second-place finish, two shots back of Clemson. Central Florida finished in third place at -10. Host school South Dakota State finished fourth at -9, and Oregon State finished fifth at -6.
Notable stats for the Tigers were par 3 and par 4 scoring averages, which saw Mizzou put up solid numbers at 3.12 and 4.05, respectively; good enough for second in the tournament. Mizzou also led the field in pars, recording 171 for the tournament. Individually, Ullestad led the field with a 4.33 par 5 scoring average.
Individually, Clemson’s Redman would continue his strong play and go on to finish first at -13. Mizzou’s Walker would come in second after a final round 70 to finish -7. Not far behind them came Franssen and Lilliedahl, who both finished tied for fourth at -5. Fleenor would finish tied for 14th at even par after a strong final-round 70, and Echelmeier would finish tied for 49th at +11.
The first two tournament finishes have shown what the Tigers are capable of, now recording a second-place finish after their tournament victory at the Turning Stone Invitational to start the season. Mizzou now looks ahead to their next event, the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate from Oct. 14-16 in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
_Edited by Theo DeRosa | tderosa@themaneater.com_
