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Cardinals Finish Fifth with Four Golfers in Top 25 at Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate
April 21, 2024 | Men's Golf
URBANA, Ill. – Ball State placed four golfers among the top 25 positions and the Cardinals moved up a spot in the final round to finish fifth at the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate. Bolstered by 18 consecutive holes of par by freshman Alec Cesare, Ball State shot 7-over-par as a team to record its best round of the tournament and move past Mid-American Conference rival Toledo in the final standings.
Across the board, Ball State was steady in its rise into the top five on Sunday, finishing with the second-lowest team score (291) in the final round, behind Michigan State (285) and ahead of host Illinois (292) and Michigan (292). The Cardinals' 177 holes of par over three rounds was second overall to Northwestern's 178.
Cesare (74-78-71—223) fired par-71 on the 7,503-yard track at The Atkins Club which measures as the longest course the Cardinals have played this season. It was the Cardinals' best round of the tournament and his 40 holes of par over 54 holes tied with Michigan State's Austin Meekhof as the most by any player. He finished in 22nd-place, tied with three others including teammate Ali Khan (74-74-75—223), who shot par on 36 holes.
"We did what we set out to do today and that was get the team back into the top 5," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck. "It wasn't pretty at times, but for the most part we were efficient and solid with Cesare's round leading the way -- 18 pars on this golf course today is really good."
Overall, the Cardinals were led by Canadian lefty Braxton Kuntz (72-75-73—220) who opened the day in 13th place and rose one spot to 12th. The junior double-bogeyed the first hole early Sunday morning, then after a third-hole birdie he joined Cesare in shooting par over every hole the rest of the way – except for a 4-stroke bogey on the 17th hole. His 38 holes of par over three rounds was fifth in the tournament. He finished atop the Cardinals lineup after each round of the tournament, shooting par or better on 44 of 54 holes.
Playing in the Cardinals' No. 1 position, Carter Smith (73-76-72—221) fired his best round of the tournament on Sunday with a 1-over 72 to finish in 15th place, two strokes ahead of Cesare and Khan. Jensen Klondike (76-78-79—233) finished 50th out of 69 total competitors, and Kash Bellar (74-80-73—227), competing this weekend as an individual, finished in 36th place.
"Overall, to have one of the lower rounds in the field two of three rounds, place two guys inside the top 15 and four inside the top 25 definitely gives us some momentum rolling into next week," added Fleck. "I'm excited to see what this group can do at Chatham Hills," referring to next week's MAC Championships, ironically hosted by Toledo yet conducted in nearby Westfield, Indiana.
Eighteenth-ranked Illinois (+12, 864) captured its own Fighting Illini championship, leading Big Ten powers Michigan State (+22, 874), Michigan (+29, 881) and Northwestern (+31, 883) in second, third and fourth place. Ball State (+35, 887) raced past Toledo (+42, 894) on Sunday to swap places with the Rockets in the final standings. Reflecting the narrow competition between the two MAC rivals and looking ahead to Friday's opening round at Chatham Hills, Ball State finished in second place in the 2023 MAC Championships, just two strokes ahead of the third-place Rockets.
Ball State Individual Results, through Final Round
No. 3 Braxton Kuntz (220): 40-32—72 | 36-39--75 | 37-36—73 (+7, 12th)
No. 1 Carter Smith (221): 34-39—73 | 37-39—76 | 36-36—72 (+8, 15th)
No. 2 Ali Khan (223): 37-37—74 | 36-38—74 | 36-39—75 (+10, 22nd)
No. 4 Alec Cesare (223): 38-36—74 | 39-39—78 | 36-35—71 (+10, 22nd)
No. 5 Jensen Klondike (233): 40-36—76 | 39-39—78 | 39-40—79 (+20, 50th)
Individual Kash Bellar (227): 38-36—74 | 41-39—80 | 34-39—73 (+14, 36th)
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Across the board, Ball State was steady in its rise into the top five on Sunday, finishing with the second-lowest team score (291) in the final round, behind Michigan State (285) and ahead of host Illinois (292) and Michigan (292). The Cardinals' 177 holes of par over three rounds was second overall to Northwestern's 178.
Cesare (74-78-71—223) fired par-71 on the 7,503-yard track at The Atkins Club which measures as the longest course the Cardinals have played this season. It was the Cardinals' best round of the tournament and his 40 holes of par over 54 holes tied with Michigan State's Austin Meekhof as the most by any player. He finished in 22nd-place, tied with three others including teammate Ali Khan (74-74-75—223), who shot par on 36 holes.
"We did what we set out to do today and that was get the team back into the top 5," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck. "It wasn't pretty at times, but for the most part we were efficient and solid with Cesare's round leading the way -- 18 pars on this golf course today is really good."
Overall, the Cardinals were led by Canadian lefty Braxton Kuntz (72-75-73—220) who opened the day in 13th place and rose one spot to 12th. The junior double-bogeyed the first hole early Sunday morning, then after a third-hole birdie he joined Cesare in shooting par over every hole the rest of the way – except for a 4-stroke bogey on the 17th hole. His 38 holes of par over three rounds was fifth in the tournament. He finished atop the Cardinals lineup after each round of the tournament, shooting par or better on 44 of 54 holes.
Playing in the Cardinals' No. 1 position, Carter Smith (73-76-72—221) fired his best round of the tournament on Sunday with a 1-over 72 to finish in 15th place, two strokes ahead of Cesare and Khan. Jensen Klondike (76-78-79—233) finished 50th out of 69 total competitors, and Kash Bellar (74-80-73—227), competing this weekend as an individual, finished in 36th place.
"Overall, to have one of the lower rounds in the field two of three rounds, place two guys inside the top 15 and four inside the top 25 definitely gives us some momentum rolling into next week," added Fleck. "I'm excited to see what this group can do at Chatham Hills," referring to next week's MAC Championships, ironically hosted by Toledo yet conducted in nearby Westfield, Indiana.
Eighteenth-ranked Illinois (+12, 864) captured its own Fighting Illini championship, leading Big Ten powers Michigan State (+22, 874), Michigan (+29, 881) and Northwestern (+31, 883) in second, third and fourth place. Ball State (+35, 887) raced past Toledo (+42, 894) on Sunday to swap places with the Rockets in the final standings. Reflecting the narrow competition between the two MAC rivals and looking ahead to Friday's opening round at Chatham Hills, Ball State finished in second place in the 2023 MAC Championships, just two strokes ahead of the third-place Rockets.
Ball State Individual Results, through Final Round
No. 3 Braxton Kuntz (220): 40-32—72 | 36-39--75 | 37-36—73 (+7, 12th)
No. 1 Carter Smith (221): 34-39—73 | 37-39—76 | 36-36—72 (+8, 15th)
No. 2 Ali Khan (223): 37-37—74 | 36-38—74 | 36-39—75 (+10, 22nd)
No. 4 Alec Cesare (223): 38-36—74 | 39-39—78 | 36-35—71 (+10, 22nd)
No. 5 Jensen Klondike (233): 40-36—76 | 39-39—78 | 39-40—79 (+20, 50th)
Individual Kash Bellar (227): 38-36—74 | 41-39—80 | 34-39—73 (+14, 36th)
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