Men’s Golf Posts Dramatic Team Win In Season Opening Tourney

Story contributions courtesy of Wittenberg senior Andy Elliott

Lexington, Kentucky- The 11^th-ranked Wittenberg men's golf team opened the 2018-19 with a thrilling come-from-behind team win at the Transylvania Fall Invitational on Sunday afternoon at the par-72, 6,942-yard University Club of Kentucky.

Wittenberg entered Sunday's final round trailing NCAC-rival Ohio Wesleyan by nine strokes in the team standings, but the Tigers exploded for a seven-under par 281 on Sunday to catapult to the top of the standings for their first team title of the young season. Wittenberg finished the 54-hole event with a team score of 856 (289-286-281), while host Transylvania finished second with an 871 and OWU finished third overall with 872 total strokes. 

Senior Colin Laszlo helped guide the Tigers to the dramatic come-from-behind team win by finishing in a tie for second out of 88 golfers in the individual standings with junior teammate Ryan Mallette. 

Laszlo, who carded his first collegiate hole-in-one on the 12th hole in round one on Saturday, and Mallette finished deadlocked on the leaderboard with 212 strokes each in the 54-hole event. Laszlo's five-under par 67 in the final round on Sunday was the second lowest 18-hole round of the event, trailing only Ohio Wesleyan's Will Efkeman's 66 in the second round on Saturday. Laszlo opened the event with a 70 in round one and a 75 in round two, while Mallette finished the tournament with rounds of 73, 71 and 68.

In addition to Laszlo and Mallette, senior Cooper Taylor also cracked the top-15 in the individual standings by finishing as part of a three-way tie for 12^th with a three-round score of 218 (73-74-71).

Up Next:

The Wittenberg men's golf team will now make a return trip to Lexington, Kentucky, in a few weeks for the NCAA Championship Preview on Monday, September 17th and Tuesday, September 18.