Sunset, S.C. – Michigan State men’s golf finished fifth at the Clemson Invitational on Sunday at the Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Sunset, S.C. The 7,103-yard, par-72 course was designed by Jack Nicklaus.
No. 41 MSU finished the tournament fifth with a 23-over 887 (291-293-303). Host and No. 11 Clemson captured the 12-team field with a 3-under 861 (276-290-295). No. 47 Georgia Tech (288-287-297) and Louisville (285-294-293) finished tied for second with a score of 8-over 872.
“We are disappointed, but there is still a lot of good stuff out there for us. We made a lot of birdies. The golf course was just on the edge today, and we felt like we were on the wrong side of that all day,” MSU head golf coach Casey Lubahn said. “It was nice to get back in action. A lot of guys, especially Sam (Weatherhead) hit a lot of good shots. We just need to clean up some of the mistakes before next week.”
Junior Sam Weatherhead finished the tournament tied for third for his third top-five finish of the season. Weatherhead was 1-under 215 (71-68-76) and finished tied with a trio of Clemson Tigers, Carson Young, Stephen Behr and Austin Langdale. Georgia Tech’s Vince Whaley earned medalist honors with an 8-under 208 (70-67-71). Louisville’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist finished second with a 6-under 210 (69-70-71). For the tournament, Weatherhead tied for second with Langdale with 14 birdies.
“We asked him to make a pretty big change the last few weeks with his golf swing to see some improvement. He did it, and he trusted us which was really, really impressive to me. He is going to be an important guy for us the next three weeks, so it is great to see him start this stretch with a great tournament,” Lubahn said.
Senior Mitch Rutledge had the lowest round of the day for the Spartans with a 73. The senior finished tied for 17th with a 5-over 221 (75-73-73). Rutledge completed the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 73. Rutledge was second on the team with eight birdies. Junior Charlie Netzel was tied for 27th with a 9-over 225 (72-75-78).
Junior Josh Heinze had a tough final round and finished tied for 34th with a 12-over 228 (73-77-78). Freshman Dylan Deogun completed the Spartan quintet, moving up four spots to tied for 44th with an 15-over 231 (77-78-76).
