Michigan State University
Inverness Intercollegiate (Inverness Club)
Rutledge Captures Inverness Intercollegiate Title, Tying Career Low 66
9/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State senior men's golfer Mitch Rutledge earned medalist honors at the Inverness Intercollegiate, capturing his first collegiate tournament title. Rutledge's third-round 66 tied his career low and tied the sixth-lowest 18-hole score in MSU history.
Rutledge captured the title with a 2-under 211 and was the only player to finish under par. The 54-hole 211 (75-70-70-66) was the second lowest three-round score of his career after a 210 during the 2013-14 season. The senior finished ahead of Michigan's Kyle Mueller, who carded a one-over 214 (70-74-70).
"It was a fantastic, big time breakthrough and a great week for Mitch. I think it's been coming for a long time, the kid works as hard as probably anyone I've ever coached. It's nice to see him kind of run away with this one shooting a 66 today. I'm super proud of him," MSU head coach Casey Lubahn said.
Michigan State jumped from 11th place to seventh as a team, carding a 42-over 894 (303-303-288). The Spartans' 288 was the lowest third-round score. California captured the tournament title with a 25-over 877 (291-293-293). Defending champion East Tennessee State finished in second place with a 28-over 880 (293-293-294).
"As far as the team, we got away with a poor start by finishing real well. It's always nice to finish well, but we've got to be sharper, especially day in and day out, so that we don't put ourselves in these situations. I'm proud of the way we're handing it, when we do see adversity. We'll just need to get off to a better start next week in Nebraska. All in all, a good day for our program," Lubahn added.
The 15-team event was held at the par-71, 7,300-yard Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Among the 15 teams were three others from the Big Ten, including Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue.
Junior Sam Weatherhead finished tied for 26th with a 12-over 225 (72-79-74). Weatherhead had two birdies in the final round. Fellow junior Charlie Netzel was tied for 37th with a 15-over 228 (75-76-77).
Junior Gareth Lappin made the jump from 63rd to tied for 50th by carding a 72 in the third round which was the second-lowest score for the Spartans on Tuesday. Sophomore Michael Sharp was tied for 69th, carding a 26-over 239 (82-81-76) to round out the Spartan lineup.
The Inverness Club was founded in 1903 and along with the University of Toledo served as host for the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championships. Inverness has also hosted four U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two PGA Championships and one U.S. Amateur.
Michigan State continues a busy week by competing at the Jackrabbit Invitational hosted by South Dakota State, on Saturday-Monday, Sept. 26-28. The tournament will be held in Valentine, Neb.
Players Mentioned
