Men's Golf Sets New Program Record During Their Butler Invite Tournament Win

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Ball State men's golf team finished the Don Benbow Butler Invitational with a first-place finish and a new 54-hole program record for a team score of 818 and sweeping the top-four spots on the individual standings list. The Cardinals had a complete performance from start to finish to collect their second tournament win of the 2023 season.

The Cardinals broke the program record of 824 for low-54 holes, set in 2005, with their final team score of 818. Ball State separated themselves from the competition by nearly 30 strokes, finishing round three at 818 (276-266-276—818) while their closest opponent, Butler, had a final tally of 844. The Cardinals finished in first as a team and had all top-four finishes in the individual standings.

Carter Smith continued his momentum from day one as he led the Cardinals in the final round of the Butler Invite, breaking the 54-hole Ball State program record of 201 set by Patrick Wilkes-Krier in 2006, with his final tally of 199. Smith finished at 2-under today (66-65-68—199), securing first place after a stand-out performance.

Evan Bone competed as an individual and finished round three at 3-under, taking second place overall in the individual standings. Bone had a consistent performance throughout each round (67-68-67—202).

Ali Khan tallied a third-place finish, finishing at 1-under after round three (68-67-69—204). Khan recorded three birdies in the final round to land his third-place finish.

Kash Bellar had his best round today, finishing at 3-under (70-69-67—206) and securing a fourth-place finish. Bellar notched seven birdies in round three.

Joey Ranieri finished tied for 18^th after his impressive comeback round yesterday (76-65-72—213). Ranieri scored at 2-over today tallying two birdies today. Griffin Hare finished at 4-over in round three and tied for 34tth after three rounds of play (72-70-74—216).

Colin Nasser finished tied for 51^st scoring 75-72-74—221. Also competing as individuals were Drew Todd and Carson Orr. Todd finished three rounds tied for 60^th (77-70-77—224), and Orr finished in 82^nd (73-77-84—234).

"What a dominating performance this week by our squad. To win by 26 strokes as a team and have the top four places on the individual leaderboard is everything you want while competing," said head coach Mike Fleck. "It was a record setting week with the low 18-hole team round, low 54-hole team score and Carter Smith setting the 54-hole individual scoring record…. very impressive seeing all the low scoring while getting win #2 this spring. We will enjoy this one and then get right back to work preparing for a busy April stretch. Very proud of my guys this week!"

The Cardinals are set to compete next when they travel to #1 ranked Vanderbilt at the Mason Rudolph Championship on April 10-12 in Franklin, Tennessee.

Final Team Standings:

Ball State (276-266-276—818)

2. Butler (844)
3. Indian Hills CC (848)
4. Cleveland State (854)
5. IUPUI (855)
6. Purdue Fort Wayne (857)
7. Youngstown State (860)
8. IUPUI (871)
T-9. Green Bay (892)
T-9. Detroit Mercy (892)
11. Franklin College (906)

Men's Golf Sets New Program Record During Their Butler Invite Tournament Win

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Players Mentioned

Kash Bellar

Evan Bone

Griffin Hare

Ali Khan

Colin Nasser

Carson Orr

Joey Ranieri

Carter Smith

Drew Todd