Despite the long layoff over the winter months, EMU’s golf men picked up right where they left off – making major improvements. The Royals took 13 strokes off their team score on the final day of the Lynchburg College Invitational to hold on to seventh place at their first event of the spring season.
After totaling 336 as a team on Monday on the par 72 Poplar Grove Golf Course at Amherst, Va., the men put together a 323 on Tuesday. Eastern Mennonite held off host Lynchburg, finishing at 659 (+83) and one stroke ahead of the Hornets as a team.
The 323 was just three strokes off the best team round on a par 72 course, a 320 set on their first outing this season at the Tom Kinder Memorial at Lakeview Golf Course in Harrisonburg.
Josh Alderfer (Faber, Va./Nelson County) spearheaded the huge second day, as he put together a 71 for not only the best individual round of the tournament, but the lowest 18-hole score in EMU’s four-year program history. He took 12 strokes off his first-day total to card a 154 (+10) for his first top 10 finish of the season. He was just six shots off a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at 148 (+4).
Sophomore Andrew Alderfer (Faber, Va./Nelson County) shot a consistent 79 and 80 to finish at 159 (+15) and tied for 21st. Freshman Lucas Miller (San Antonio, Tex./Brandeis) scored an 83 each day, finishing tied for 35th at 166 (+22).
After missing the fall season on his cross cultural, senior Caleb Schlabach (Millersburg, Ohio/Hiland) added a 184 (+40) while Austin Sachs (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) chipped in a 186 (+42).
Travis Dull (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) played as an individual, with his scores not counting towards the team total, but his second-day 83 missed his best round by a single stroke. He settled at 177 (+33) for the tourney.
Marymount won the team title with a 611 (+35).
The Royals have a little break before a one-day event hosted by Washington and Lee on April 3. Played at Stoney Creek Golf Course in Wintergreen , Va., the invite will give the men a preview of the same course which will host the ODAC Championships on April 24-26.