In its final regular season tournament of the season, the Drake men's golf team travels to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to compete for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship this Monday (April 29) and Tuesday (April 30).
The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Dalhousie Golf Club. A shotgun start begins play on Monday at 8:30 a.m., while tee times will kick off Tuesday's final round at 8:30 a.m.
The nine-team field includes: Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and Wichita State
A LOOK BACK
Sophomore Dane Worley (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) fired a final round 73 to lead Drake at the Boilermaker Invitational last Sunday (April 21) at the Kampen Course. The Bulldogs finished the tournament with a 54-hole score of 938 (314-316-308).
Worley turned in the Bulldogs' top finish tying for 49th place, with a 54-hole total of 230 (77-80-73).
Junior Matt Ohl (Milford, Iowa) and freshman Will McDonald (Tulsa, Okla.) followed in the standings with 71st- and 75th-place efforts on the strength of tournament scores of 236 (80-79-77) and 239 (80-77-82), respectively.
DRAKE RESULTS: Dane Worley (77-80-73=230/T-49th), Matt Ohl (80-79-77=236/T-71st), Will McDonald (80-77-82=239/T-75th), Connor Steele (86-80-76=242/80th) and Devin Leland (77-83-84=244/T-82nd).
A YEAR AGO
Blake Huser (Altoona, Iowa) shot a final-round 76 to pace Drake to a 54-hole total of 910 (303-292-315=910), which was good for a seventh-place showing at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship on May 1, 2012 at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
Only eight strokes separated the third- to eighth-place finishers in the team competition as Northern Iowa came in third place with a 902 total.
Huser was Drake's top finisher with a 224 total (73-75-76=223), which was good for a 12th-place tie.
Registering identical tournament totals of 229 were Dane Worley and Ben Lyons (Centennial, Colo.), who turned in scores of 81 and 80 during the final round.
Devin Leland (Huxley, Iowa) concluded his year with an 81, a score that was good for a tournament mark of 233 (80-72-81=233) and a tie for 31st.
On the strength of a final-round 78, Connor Steele (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) carded a 54-hole score of 239 (78-83-78=239), to tie for 40th.
DRAKE RESULTS: Blake Huser 224 (73-75-76=224/T-12th), Dane Worley 229 (76-72-81=229/T-18th), Ben Lyons 229 (76-73-80=229/T-18th), Devin Leland 233 (80-72-81=233/T-31st), Connor Steele 239 (78-83-78=239/T-40th).
DRAKE HEAD COACH MATT LEWIS
Matt Lewis is in his second season leading the Drake's men's golf program after being named head coach on July 26, 2011.
In his first campaign directing the Bulldogs, Drake turned in top-10 finishes in six tournaments and was led by Devin Leland and Blake Huser, who posted scoring averages of 76.3 and 76.8, respectively.
In a finish where only eight strokes separated the third- to eighth-place finishers, Drake earned a seventh-place showing at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship on the strength of a 910 (303-292-315) score.
Huser tied for 12th at the State Farm MVC Championship. Also earning tournament flags for top-18 finishes were Ben Lyons and Dane Worley, who tied for 18th place.
UP NEXT
Drake will advance to the NCAA Tournament with a victory at the MVC Championship.
