MSU Men's Golf Concludes Boilermaker Invitational Fifth

April 17, 2016

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In its final tournament before the Big Ten Championship, the Michigan State men's golf team finished fifth at the Boilermaker Invitational at Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Boilermaker Invitational Results

No. 43 MSU completed the three-round tournament with a score of 8-over 872 (294-286-292).

The Spartans were one of seven Big Ten teams to play at the tournament along with Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Northwestern, host Purdue and Wisconsin. No. 2 Illinois captured the team title last season with a 3-under 829.

Illinois captured back-to-back Boilermaker Invitational titles, finishing with a 17-under 847 (280-277-290). Host and No. 31-ranked Purdue finished second after 54 holes with a 10-under 854 (284-286-284). Yet another Big Ten squad, Northwestern finished third with a 3-under 861 (292-288-281), while Kent State was fourth with a 1-over 865 (296-289-280).

Michigan State has finished in the top five its last seven tournaments.

"We weren't great all weekend; we were just kind of average. We just made too many mistakes, but I also think that we learned a lot," MSU head coach Casey Lubahn said. "It was good prep for next weekend at the Big Ten Championship. Despite less than our best stuff, we still had some pretty decent scores. I don't think that we went down, I think we are just going to use it to spring board into postseason."

Charlie Danielson of Illinois captured his second-straight individual medalist honors at the Boilermaker Invitational. He won with a 9-under 207 (70-65-72).

For the second-straight tournament, junior Josh Heinze was the top finisher for the Spartans. Last week, Heinze was tied for first at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. This week, Heinze finished tied for 14th with an even 216 (72-73-71).

Senior Mitch Rutledge finished tied for 22nd after 54 holes with a 3-over 219 (74-72-73).

Juniors Sam Weatherhead and Charlie Netzel tied for 34th with a score of 6-over 222. Weatherhead struggled in round three with a 78 after shooting a 74 in round one and a 70 in round two. Netzel shot a 77 in the final round after a 74 in the first round and a 71 in the second round. The 71 was his lowest scored since shooting a 70 at the Quail Valley Intercollegiate on Oct. 27.

Junior Gareth Lappin finished tied for 56 with a 11-over 227. Lappin recovered nicely in round three with a 71 after shooting a pair of 78s in the first two rounds.

"We just have to clean it up a little bit. We have been sloppy with our thinking and our attitude in the final rounds the last couple weeks. So, we will get that cleaned up. I also see postseason as an opportunity. As we look at NCAA selections, every week it has been about having a good finish so we can get selected for the NCAA Tournament," Lubahn said.

The Spartans now prepare for the Big Ten Championship April 22-24 at Victoria National Golf Course in Newburgh, Indiana.