GVSU men’s golf performs well, Mitchell White earns GLIAC Golfer of the Week

The team practices pitching the ball onto the green. The team participated in some drills on Tuesday, September 19th, 2017.  GVL / Archive

The team practices pitching the ball onto the green. The team participated in some drills on Tuesday, September 19th, 2017.  GVL / Archive

D'Angelo Starks

The Grand Valley State University men’s golf team traveled to Findlay Country Club on Sept. 24 and 25 to participate in the Doc Spragg Fall Invitational. This is only the second tournament of the year for the Lakers, the first of which saw them take home the victory. This tournament would have a similar finish.

On day one of the tournament, GVSU shot a 291 as a team, good enough to put them in second place going into the final round. The only team to perform better was the University of Indianapolis, with UIndy shooting a 288.

Individually, Eric Nunn carded a 71 in the round. Alex Scott also shot a 71, Mitchell White finished the round even with a 72 and Bryce Messner finished the day with a 77. Matthew Orwig posted the highest score for the Lakers with a 78.

Day two would be much better for the Lakers as a team and for the individuals. As a team, they shot a 283, which was good enough to move them into a tie with Indianapolis. The big turnaround led to the Lakers sharing a tournament win with Indianapolis.

White had the best round for the Lakers, shooting a 69 on day two, giving him a two-day score of 141 and that was good enough to secure a tournament victory for White.

White was not the only strong performer for GVSU. Nunn finished tied for second after shooting another 71 to finish with a two day score of 142. Scott finished tied for 10th after dropping a couple strokes on day two to finish with a 73. His two day score was a 144. 

Messner made up for his round one by scoring a 70 and moving up 31 spots in the rankings to finish tied for 21st, improving his two day total to 147. Orwig finished day two with another 78, making his two day total 156.

GVSU was the best performing team on par threes for the tournament, shooting seven plus-sevens as a team. The team was fifth best on par fours, shooting a plus-17. Where the team made the biggest impact was on par fives, as GVSU was third in the field in terms of par five’s, shooting minus-14 on them. The team’s 33 birdies were good enough for second in field.

As individuals, the Lakers placed in several different categories. Nunn was fifth in par three scoring, shooting even for the tournament. Nunn also finished second on par fives with a tournament score of minus-six. White lead the entire field in birdies, finishing the two days with 10.

White’s win is the second win of his career with the Lakers, and after his big performance in the tournament, he was awarded the GLIAC Golfer of the Week. White is the only Laker to earn this award on the young season.

GVSU looks to pick up another win in the next couple weeks, as they travel to Detroit to play in the Detroit Mercy Invite. The Invitational takes place all day Monday, Oct. 15 and Tuesday, Oct. 16.