The Eastern Michigan University men’s golf team traveled to Davidson, NC, to take part in the River Run Collegiate — the team’s second tournament of the 2022-23 season. The 54-hole event consisted of three rounds, two of which being played on Monday, Sept. 19, and a third and final round that was played on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Davidson College served as host to sixteen other teams, including EMU at the River Run Country Club, a 71-par, 7,317-yard course. The Eagles were attempting to build off the momentum they had established in their debut outing of the season, where the team finished third, shooting an 850 (275-290-285) at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational.
The Eagles were unable to duplicate that team success from their first event and finished tied for fourteenth place with Marshall University after posting an 894 (296-296-302). Davidson College fired a tournament-best 277 during the last round to lift the host of the event to a three-stroke victory and a final score of 867 (299-291-277). East Carolina University took second with a score of 870, and the University of Dayton followed in third with a score of 875.
Individually, a few Eagles stood out in the field of ninety-nine golfers. EMU junior Patrick Deardorff shot a career-best 70 in the opening round of tournament play. Deardorff sank seven birdies between the first two rounds of the River Run Collegiate and found himself only seven strokes out of first place with 18 holes to play.
It was senior Cam Kellet though, who once again led the Eagles’ golfers in scoring cumulatively through all three rounds. Kellet followed up his stellar 209 scores in his first outing of the 2022-23 season that earned him his first ever top-5 finish, with a score of 220 (75-71-74) and his third career top-25 finish. Freshman Ryan Somerville came in only one stroke behind Kellet, shooting a 221 (75-75-71) and picking up in career-first top-35 placement. Deardorff finished 53rd with a score of 226 (70-74-82), followed by freshman golfers Logan Graf (230) and Victor Caliguri (232).
EMU’s next tournament will take place on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 26-27, when the team returns to the mitten and heads to Grand Haven to compete in the inaugural Folds of Honor Collegiate. The brand new event will be hosted by Michigan State University and mark the first time that the Eagles and the Spartans meet on the links since 1973.
For more information on the Eastern Michigan Men’s golf team, you can visit EMUEagles.com.
