Missouri men’s golf is no stranger to success at the Turning Stone-Tiger Intercollegiate Tournament.
The Tigers have hosted the tournament in Verona, New York for 10 years. During that time, they have never finished outside the top three and have taken home the title for the past seven years. Going into the tournament Sunday, Missouri looked to start the season strong and continue its dominance at Turning Stone.
Missouri finished 5-under par in the first round. Three members of the team ended 2-under. Among them was senior Rory Franssen, who has seen success at Turning Stone in the past. He scored his way into the top 20 individual golfers the previous three times he participated in the tournament. Also 2-under was sophomore Tommy Boone who shot six birdies in Sunday morning’s round. Rounding out the group was redshirt freshman Ross Steelman.
As a team, the Tigers struggled in round two. Missouri sat in second place, 17 strokes behind the North Carolina Tar Heels at the end of the day on Sunday. Despite the team ending the round above par, several players improved on their first round scores. Both Franssen and senior Ricky Sanders shot 4-under par and junior Jack Parker scored 1-under in the second round.
Missouri faced rainy conditions as it battled to make a comeback in round three on Monday. The Tigers bounced back in the last round with all members of the team scoring 1-over or lower. Both Parker and Steelman finished the round 1-under. Despite the team posting a par, the Tigers were not able to earn their eighth consecutive Turning-Stone victory. Missouri ended the tournament shooting 7-under par and 35 strokes behind the Tar Heels, who took home first place.
Individually, Missouri had three team members finish in the top 10. Franssen made his way to sixth place individually by finishing the tournament 5-under par. While it was not Franssen’s best score in Verona, it was a six-stroke improvement on his score the year before.
Two other Tigers finished in the top ten. Sanders followed right behind his teammate, placing seventh with a 212, making this tournament his best as a Tiger. Parker rounded out the top ten after a strong showing on Monday, and shot one under in the final round to end the tournament with a 215. This tournament marks Parker’s first top-ten finish since the Missouri Invitational his freshman year where he tied for ninth.
Steelman and freshman Viktor Einarsson both finished in the top 25 in their Tiger golf debuts, finishing tied for No. 16 and tied for No. 21, respectively. Both struggled in the second round, but were able to come back with impressive third rounds. Einarsson shot 3-under par and amassed six birdies, making the third round his best by five strokes. Steelman had 5 birdies in the round and went 1-under.
Despite a solid first round for Boone, he was unable to bounce back from a disappointing round two. He posted a score of 1-over par in the final round. Boone settled for a tie at No. 23.
Rounding out the Tigers individual scorers was freshman Yu-ta Tsai who finished tied for No. 56.
Next up on the Tigers agenda is the Inverness Intercollegiate Tournament in Toledo, Ohio, which takes place Sept. 23.

_Edited by Emily Leiker | eleiker@themaneater.com_