MUNDELEIN, Ill. – After last week's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) match play event, the Yellowjacket men's golf team was back on road again Friday for the opening day of the Forester Spring Invitational, hosted by Lake Forest College.
The Yellowjackets put on a strong showing Friday, combining for a team score of 304, putting them at 16 over par and in a tie for 11th place at the end of the first day at Countryside Golf Club.
Elmhurst University, Concordia University Wisconsin and Wisconsin Lutheran are all tied with the Yellowjackets after the first day.
As he has throughout the season, the Yellowjackets were paced by
Conner Willard (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing). The senior had a strong day, carding two birdies on both the front and back nines to come in with an even-par 72. Willard was consistent, shooting an even 36 on both the front and back today. He birdied the par-five seventh and par three ninth on the front, while dropping his score on the par-three 15th and the par five 18th.
Willard currently sits in 23rd in the field.
Meet Notes
- Nate Burke (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) was right on Willard's heels, finishing 37th in the field with a two-over 74. He birdied two holes on the front nine and parred eight of nine holes on the back. He only bogeyed four holes Friday.
- Also turning in a strong day was Blu Anderson (Amery, Wis./Amery). The sophomore finished six over Friday, carding a 78. Anderson fired a 38 on the front, where he carded two birdies and a 40 on the back.
- Rounding out the scoring for the Yellowjackets was Matthew Unger (New Richmond, Wis./New Richmond). Unger had two birdies and shot a 38 on the front. He added a birdie on the back nine but also had a handful of bogies to shoot a 42, finishing the round with a score of 80.
- Playing as an individual today was August Lang (Somerset, Wis./Somerset), who finishing 13 over with a score of 85. Lang shot 44 on the front nine and 41 on the back. He finished strong with five straight pars.
- Host Lake Forest College, playing on its home course, has the lead after the first day, firing a seven-under par score of 281.
- Lake Forest has a one stroke lead over Aurora and Wheaton.
- Wheaton's Jonah Swartz is the individual leader after the first day, coming in with a six-under 66.
The Yellowjackets will return to Countryside Golf Club Saturday for the second day of the Forester Spring Invitational. Tee times begin at 10 a.m.
