The Oswego State men’s golf team hosted their annual Fall Invitational at the Oswego Country Club on Sep. 28 and 29, taking on a couple of tough regional teams. Over two days of competition, the Lakers battled through some tough conditions but finished strong, ending up in second place overall after a solid comeback on day two.
Sep. 28 saw the Lakers’ A team face a few challenges on the course. Despite great weather at the Oswego Country Club, a couple of tricky holes on both the front and back nine made for a tough day for many of the players. At the end of the first round, the Lakers’ A found themselves in fifth place with a team score of +24. Leading the charge for the Lakers was Rowen Lynch, who shot +1, tying for second place individually. Michael Douglas followed closely behind with a +2, good for a tie for fourth.
Other notable first-round scores included Tyler Donohue at +5 and Jacob Banks and Tyler Simonetti both tied at +6. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ B team was only two strokes behind, sitting in sixth place at +26.
The Utica University A team held the top spot after round one, shooting +16, giving them an eight-stroke advantage over the Lakers. Hobart and Clarkson were also in the mix, creating a tight race heading into Sunday.
Sep. 29 was a different story for Oswego, as the Lakers came out swinging. The A team shaved eight strokes off their day one score, moving up from fifth place to finish second overall with a team score of +40. This impressive turnaround allowed them to leapfrog three teams and come just behind Hobart, who took first place with a +32. The Lakers’ B team held steady and finished in sixth with a total score of +64.
Michael Douglas led the way for the Lakers, tying for second place individually with a total score of +5 after two solid rounds of +2 and +3. His consistency helped keep the Lakers in contention throughout the weekend.
The real highlight, though, was Evan McDonald’s huge turnaround. After a tough first round where he shot +12, McDonald came out on fire in round two, carding a -3 on Sunday, improving by 16 strokes to finish tied for eighth at +9 overall. His bounce-back performance was one of the best stories of the tournament.
Other key finishes included Tyler Donohue and Tyler Simonetti, both tying for 13th at +12 and Rowen Lynch, who ended up in 16th place with a +13 after his strong opening round. Jacob Banks finished 20th at +15, while Dante Cassella and John O’Neill wrapped up their tournaments in 24th and 27th, respectively.
After an impressive second-place finish, the Lakers’ men’s golf team will look to keep this momentum going as they move through the rest of their fall schedule. With standout performances from Douglas, McDonald and the rest of the squad, the Lakers showed they can hang with some of the best teams in the region. Up next for the Lakers is the culmination of their season this weekend as they head to their Empire 8 Championships in Cicero. If they can keep up the level of play they brought in the Oswego invitational, they will be in great shape heading into their final lap.
Photo by: Oswego Athletics
