 The University of Evansville men’s golf team earned a seventh-place finish at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Sitting 19-strokes back of sixth-place Valparaiso after the opening day, the Purple Aces put together their best round of the championship on Tuesday. Evansville carded a 304 as a team to give the Aces a three-round total of 936 (324 – 308 – 304), nearly moving UE into sixth as the Aces finished just five strokes shy of the Crusaders. Bradley won the team 2018 MVC Championship with all three rounds under 300, finishing the championship with a team score of 883 (298 – 289 – 296) earning the Braves a 15-stroke advantage over second place finishing Southern Illinois. The Braves’ Drake Bushong captured the individual championship with a two-day total of 217 (76 – 69 – 72) as Bradley held the top three positions.
Senior Tyler Gray closed out his Purple Aces career with his best round of the championship on the final day. Gray recorded a one-over 73 in Tuesday’s final round placing him in a tie for 19th with a three-round total of 231 (82 – 76 – 73).
Following Gray was freshman Spencer Wagner, who also tallied his best round of the week on Tuesday. After an 81 and 78 in Monday’s first two rounds, Wagner finished the championship with a two-over 74 in the final round for a two-day total of 233.
The Aces leader after the first day, sophomore Cameron Weyer earned a 31st-place finish with a final round 80 giving him a three-round total of 235 (82 – 73 – 80). Just two strokes behind Weyer was sophomore Matthew Ladd, who finished in a tie for 33rd with a tournament-total of 273 (79 – 81 – 77) featuring his best round of the week with a 77 on Tuesday.
In the final round, freshman Noah Reese continued to show his consistent improvement. Reese finished in a tie for 38th after carding an 82 and 81 on in the first two rounds on Monday before closing the championship with an 80 in the final round giving him a two-day total of 243 (82 – 81 – 80).
