ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Lindsey Wilson College men's golf team fought through turbulent winds to tie for fourth at the Lindenwood Fall Invitational hosted by Lindenwood (Mo.) University at the Crescent Hills Golf Club on Sept. 28-29.
Blue Raider junior Joe Hood completed a career-best round of 68 on the final day of the invitational, finishing second individually with a seven-over-par 223 and putting Lindsey Wilson in position for the top-five finish.
The format of the event had teams playing 36 holes on the first day and 18 on the second.
Battling extreme conditions on Monday, Hood struggled to scores of 83 and 72. Luckily for Lindsey Wilson, the junior was able to forget about those results on Tuesday and turn in the career-best card. Hoods previous low score was 70, reached this season at the Don Bishop Invitational in Campbellsville, Ky.
"Joe was embarrassed more than anything after the first day," admitted Lindsey Wilson coach Chris Starks. "I told him to just draw a line after the 83 and start over from there, he responded very well."
While Hood gave the Blue Raiders a presence at the top of the leader board, his teammates were consistent in the middle of the pack.
Freshman Antonio Arriola shot a 232 (76-79-77) to finish tied for 14th place, while his classmate Daron Morris tied for 38th place, shooting a 238 (81-81-76). Senior Travis Radford joined Morris in 38th place with 232 (79-77-82) strokes, turning in a rare card with better scores during the windiest days.
"We had never played in conditions like that," added Starks. "The wind was blowing anywhere from 30 to 40 miles per hour. To finish where we did against quality teams in those conditions shows we can compete with anybody."
Sophomore Nicolas Navarro rounded out the group of Blue Raider golfers with a 252 (87-82-83) to finish in a tie for 90th place.
Grand View (IA) University took first place in the invitational with a team score of 908, well ahead of second-place finisher Indiana Wesleyan University scoring a 923.
In sole possession of third place was Oklahoma Baptist University, shooting a 929. Just two strokes out of third were Lindsey Wilson and Southern Nazarene (Okla.) University, each tallying a 931.
Lindsey Wilson's third round score of 303 was 16 strokes better than day one, while Southern Nazarene improved its first-round 323 by 25 strokes.
"I am super proud of the team," said Starks. "Playing like they did in the impossible conditions was great to watch as a coach."
Men's golf is back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 13, hosting the Lindsey Wilson College Fall Invitational at Dale Hollow State Park in Burkesville, Ky.
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