Photo by Summer Moody
Sterling, KS – The Central Christian College men's and women's golf teams competed this week in the Midwest Spring Fling, hosted by Sterling College at Cottonwood Golf Club.
The tournament began on Monday with the men playing 36 holes, and the women playing just 18. Conditions were sketchy for the opening round in the morning, but by the afternoon the weather had cleared up and conditions on the course were very favorable. The morning round for the men didn't go as planned. The Tigers opened up with a 341, with only Collin Duckworth shooting in the 70's with a 76. The rest of the team shot 86 or higher leaving themselves with a steep uphill climb the rest of the way.
The second 18 wasn't much better but they did manage to trip 12 strokes off of their morning score to finish with a 329. The bad news was that none of the Tigers were able to break into the 70's. Duckworth, Lowell Stephens, and JP Ray tied for the low score in the round with an 82. The Tigers' two round total of 670 put them in 10th place in the team standings heading into the final round on Tuesday. Unfortunately as they started their final round Tuesday morning, the skies opened up and ended up cancelling the tournament. The decision was made to not try and make up Tuesday's round so the first two rounds on Monday became the final scores.
For the CCC Women they just had two available ladies for the third event in a row. Their two other teammates have been struggling with chronic, nagging injuries for the past few weeks. Kari Kirl had her second top 10 finish in a row winding up in a tie for 10th place with her Monday round of 90. Fellow freshman Haley Smith struggled a bit with the blustery and rainy Monday morning conditions, shooting a 103 which landed her in sole possession of 18th place.
Next up for the Tigers is a dual with Bethany College out at Turkey Creek Golf Course here in McPherson at 3:30 pm on Friday.
