VanDeventer Wins, Men's Golf Runner-Up at Pinehurst

PINEHURST, N.C. -- The Ball State men's golf team rallied to take the lead during Sunday's final round at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate before finishing one shot off the pace.

The Cardinals, fighting to defend their title on the No. 8 course at Pinehurst, fired the low round of the tournament Sunday – a 286 – but finished just behind Radford.

Ball State senior Michael VanDeventer polished off a wire-to-wire victory on the individual leaderboard, finishing two shots clear od second-place Alex Weiss, a top-100 player from Marshall.

VanDeventer posted a 54-hole total of 215 (+2) on the way to his second collegiate victory. He won the Cardinals' Earl Yestingsmeier Memorial Invitational last spring.

The team leaderboard was tight all week. Ball State held a one-shot lead after round one and fell six shots of the pace after round two. The Cardinals entered the final day in sixth place and jumped five of those teams to finish runner-up.

Ball State's 54-hole score of 887 (+35) was one behind Radford and one ahead of third-place Old Dominion and Dayton.

Johnny Watts led the charge for Ball State with a 68, the low round of the tournament. The Cardinals also counted a 71 from Michael Makris, a 72 from VanDeventer and a 75 from Jack Cunningham in the final round.

Watts moved up into a tie for sixth on the final leaderboard at 220 (+7), while Makris tied for 14th at 223 (+10) to give the Cardinals three of the top 15.

The Pinehurst Intercollegiate was Ball State's first stroke play event of the spring. The Cardinals will return to action April 13-15 at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee.

Top Teams
1. Radford, 886 (+34)
2. Ball State, 887 (+35)
T3. Old Dominion, 888 (+36)
T3. Dayton, 888 (+36)
5. Elon, 892 (+40)

Ball State Scores
2. Ball State, 867 (+35): 297-304-286
1. Michael VanDeventer, 215 (+2): 71-72-72
T6. Johnny Watts, 220 (+7): 73-79-68
T14. Michael Makris, 223 (+10): 75-77-71
T38. Jack Cunningham, 230 (+17): 79-76-75
T49. Trevar Denney*, 234 (+21): 74-81-79
61. Timothy Wiseman, 236 (+23): 78-79-79

*Competed as an individual

VanDeventer Wins, Men's Golf Runner-Up at Pinehurst

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Players Mentioned

Jack Cunningham

Trevar Denney

Michael Makris

Michael VanDeventer

Johnny Watts

Timothy Wiseman