Despite its top golfers being preoccupied with the team competition at the Schenkel Invitational this weekend, WVU made noise at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate to start this week, headlined by a second-place finish from Jackson Davenport.
With the Schenkel Invitational and Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate slightly overlapping on Sunday, WVU only sent individuals to Tennessee on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Those individuals, seniors Davenport and Oli Ménard and sophomores Westy McCabe and Carson Kammann, more than held their own.
The golfers played one round of 18 holes each of the three days. Sunday started strong, as the pair of seniors both finished at or below the par of 71. Ménard led the WVU golfers with a one-under-par finish on day one, while Davenport shot an even par. The sophomores struggled a bit on day one, with Kammann in particular shooting an 86 (+15) in the first round.
Day two, however, saw even success across the team, as Ménard and Davenport built off their success while McCabe and Kammann recovered swimmingly. Both seniors shot 72-stroke rounds to keep a consistent showing at the top. At an even par, Ménard ranked third in the standings after day two, and Davenport sat one stroke behind and tied for fourth.
McCabe also stayed consistent, matching his day one performance with a 75-stroke round, but the real star of Monday for the Mountaineers was Kammann. After a disappointing day one, Kammann tied for the best round on day two with a 69 (-2).
Kammann’s showing was not enough to recover on the standings in the invitational, but his potential was evident. He finished under par again Tuesday with a 70-stroke round. His 86-69-70=225 (+12) final score tied for 23rd best in the tournament.
Davenport, meanwhile, showed that consistency is key to success. While most players took a dive in performance on day three, Davenport simply did what he had been doing, scoring a 72 for the day. Ménard took a slight tumble but stayed toward the top of the standings, with a 77 (+6) for the day.
When all was said and done, Davenport’s consistency earned him a final score of 71-72-72=215 (+2), which was good enough for second place. Ménard finished eighth with rounds of 70-72-77=219 (+6).
Davenport and Ménard were two of three golfers to place in the top 10 as individuals. Westy McCabe finished the tournament at 75-75-73=223 (+10) after posting his best round on Tuesday to tie for 17th.
Davenport’s second-place finish makes him the second Mountaineer to achieve such a feat this week. Junior Max Green led the team competition at Schenken over the weekend and earned himself a runner-up finish, scoring 10 strokes under par.
With a clear variety of options in their 12-man roster, the Mountaineers will compete at The Hootie at Bulls Bay in Charleston, S.C. for another three-day competition spanning from Sunday through Tuesday. Day one rounds begin at 8 a.m.
Photo from WVU Men’s Golf
