West Virginia’s men’s golf team placed first of 15 teams at the Red Bandanna Invitational on Sunday and Monday.
The team finished eight strokes over par for three rounds over the course of the two days. Junior Max Green won the individual title as well.
Placing second after Sunday, the Mountaineers were the only team to keep up with Boston College on day one, as they trailed the Eagles by two strokes and held a 10-stroke lead on third place George Mason. Boston College was the only team to score under par in a round at the invitational, finishing four strokes under par in round one, but they were unable to keep this level of production. The Eagles scored nine strokes over par in the second round on Sunday and five over on Monday to finish in second place, with a +10 total to par.
WVU stayed more consistent throughout the two days, scoring one over par in rounds one and three and six above par in round two. The team performed second best in each of the two rounds on Sunday and were the highest finishers in round three.
Max Green, WVU’s top finisher at the Big 12 tournament last season, scored three strokes under par to win the tournament. He tied his teammate, sophomore Kaleb Wilson, for the best score in round one on Sunday with a total of 68 (-4) before a 75 stroke total (+3) to close the day. He finished two strokes under par on Monday to win the tournament, defeating sophomore Jack Pogorelc from Boston College by one stroke. This is Green’s second tournament victory at the collegiate level, making him the third Mountaineer to ever achieve such.
Alongside Green, all Mountaineers performed well in their first tournament of the season. Out of 84 golfers, seniors Jackson Davenport and Oli MĂ©nard tied for ninth and 15th respectively, with Davenport finishing +4 and MĂ©nard eight over par.
Freshman Harrison Thompson finished five strokes over par to place 11th in the first tournament of his collegiate career, scoring one stroke under par in round two. Sophomore Carson Kammann (+9) tied for 18th, Kaleb Wilson (+10) tied for 21st, senior Will Stakel (+14) tied for 31st, and sophomore Westy McCabe (+18) tied for 39th. West Virginia will play again this upcoming Sunday and Monday at the Gopher Invitational in Minneapolis.
