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Cardinals close out season with solid effort at Twin Cities Classic
ELK RIVER, Minn. — Now that's more like it.
Just a week after struggling to a ninth-place finish at the Minnesota intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, the Saint Mary's University men's golf team redeemed themselves a bit at the season-ending Twin Cities Classic.
The Cardinals fired a season-best round of 308 during Saturday's opening round of the three-day tournament, then followed that up with a near-repeat performance, carding a Day 2 309. Day 3 wasn't quite as memorable, as Hazeltine GC — home of several PGA majors, including the PGA and U.S. Open — got the better of the Cardinals, as SMU settled for a third-day round of 338.
And an 11th place finish.
"I'm very happy with the way we performed all weekend," said SMU coach Tom Farren of his team's best-ever finish at the Twin Cities Classic. "Everyone was pretty disappointed with the way we played last weekend (at the MIAC Championships) and they were determined to redeem themselves a bit this time around."
Which is exactly what the Cardinals did.
Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) and Josh Wendel (Rosemount, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, as Polk posted rounds of 79-76-80 for a 235 total, while Wendel was close behind, firing the team's lowest round of the tournament — a three-over-par 75 on Saturday — en route to a 236 total (75-76-84). Tony Hynes (Lino Lakes, Minn. / 76-76-88—240), Bill Ryan (Western Springs, Ill. / 78-82-86—246) and Scott Savage (Mahtomedi, Minn. / 80-80-88—248) rounded out the Cardinals' lineup.
"I can't say enough out the way these guys played," said Farren. "To bounce back after last weekend was great to see. I knew all along that we were capable of putting up numbers like this — it's just too bad it had to come a week too late."