Men’s Golf Takes Second, Watts Named All-MAC

Friday, April 28

NASHPORT, OHIO (THE VIRTUES GOLF CLUB)

All Day

Ball State University

MAC Championships

April 30, 2017 | Men's Golf

Complete Results

Cardinals post best finish at conference championships since 2011

LEADERBOARD

NASHPORT, Ohio -- The Ball State men's golf team held firmly onto second place throughout Sunday's final round of the Mid-American Conference Championships.

The Cardinals closed with a round of 298 (+10) at The Virtues Golf Club to post a 72-hole total of 1174 (+22). Only tournament champion Kent State (-3), the 12th-ranked team in the country, was better. BSU was nine shots clear of third-place Ohio.

Johnny Watts, the 2015 MAC individual champion, added another top-3 result to his resume. The junior finished 72 holes at 4 under par to take third place behind Kent State's Gisli Sveinbergsson (-8) and Miami's Patrick Flavin (-6).

Watts and Michael VanDeventer led Ball State with 1-over-par rounds of 73 Sunday, while the team also counted a 75 from Timothy Wiseman and a 77 from Michael Makris. It was a long day of golf, delayed first by fog and then twice more by thunderstorms late in the round.

Wiseman was the second Cardinal on the final leaderboard in a tie for 12th a 6 over for the week, while VanDeventer and Makris tied for 23rd at 13 over.

Watts opened the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 69 to grab a share of the 36-hole lead and remained in the top 3 the rest of the way. He led the field for the week with 52 pars.

Watts was named to the both the All-MAC Second Team and the MAC All-Tournament Team. He became just the sixth player in program history to earn All-MAC honors three times in a career, having earned the recognition in each of his first three seasons.

Ball State's runner-up finish marked its best result at the conference championships since a second-place finish in 2011.

Ball State Scores
2. Ball State: 1174 (+22): 294-288-294-298
3. Johnny Watts, 284 (-4): 69-69-73-73
12. Timothy Wiseman: 294 (+6): 72-74-73-75
T23. Michael VanDeventer: 301 (+13): 83-74-71-73
T23. Michael Makris: 301 (+13): 76-71-77-77
44. Colin Proctor: 327 (+39): 77-85-80-85

MAC Individual Champion
Gisli Sveinbergsson, So., Kent State

MAC Runner-Up Medalist
Patrick Flavin, Jr., Miami

MAC All-Tournament Team
Gisli Sveinbergsson, So., Kent State
Patrick Flavin, Jr., Miami
Johnny Watts, Jr., Ball State
Ian Holt, Jr., Kent State
Colin Joseph, Jr., Toledo

All-MAC First Team
Chase Johnson, Jr., Kent State
Ian Holt, Jr., Kent State
Josh Whalen, Sr., Kent State
Bjarki Petursson, So., Kent State
Gisli Sveinbergsson, So., Kent State
Patrick Flavin, Jr., Miami
Peyton White, Sr., Ohio

All-MAC Second Team
Johnny Watts, Jr., Ball State
Jose Narro, Sr., Bowling Green
Kyle Rodes, Sr., Eastern Michigan
Brian Ohr, R-So., Miami

MAC Golfer of the Year
Ian Holt, Jr., Kent State

MAC Freshman of the Year
Thomas Thurloway, Fr., Toledo

Kermit Blosser Coach of the Year
Herb Page, Kent State

Earl Yestingsmeier Sportsman of the Year
Greg Conrad, Sr., Miami