In its final tournament of the season, the Wisconsin men's golf team wanted to end on a strong performance at the Big Ten Championship.
The Badgers finished the tournament, held in French Lick, Ind., in 11th place thanks to a greatly improved effort in the final two rounds.
After a slow start on the first 36 holes, rounds of 12-over par and 18-over par helped Wisconsin over take Nebraska in the overall rankings and finish the year on a high note with a 97-over par, 317-226-300-306—1249.
Illinois continued to show its dominance in the Big Ten as the Fighting Illini captured their fourth-straight championship after finishing with a 23-over par, 301-291-291—1175.
Indiana and Northwestern also had strong showings at this year’s tournament as they finished 2nd and 3rd respectively with scores of 26-over par, 293-304-295-287—1178 and 34-over par, 311-296-288-291—1186, respectively.
For the Badgers it was freshman Thomas O’Bryan who led the team for the second time this season. O’Bryan finished with a score of 80-78-73-7—308 and placed tied for 31st in the individual standings. Junior Chris Meyer finished close behind, tied for 39th, and shot a 76-85-73-76—310.
Sophomore Zach Balit had his strongest round of the tournament with a 3-over par 75 in the final round, and finished tied for 46th with a 81-79-77-75—312. Thomas Welk finished tied for 55th, and teammate Anthony Aicher rounded it out for Wisconsin with an 83-85-82-78—328 in 59th place.
The overall individual champion was the Fighting Illini’s Luke Guthrie. The senior from Qunicy, Ill. shot a 5-under par 72-71-67-7—238 to take first-place honors.
The Wisconsin men’s golf team closed out its season on a positive note after two strong rounds in the tournament that mattered most, and has a lot to look forward to in the coming season.
