Central Missouri began the 2018 fall golf season Monday at home with a second-place finish at the Mules Invitational at Mules National Golf Club.
Following two rounds of play, both Mules teams were atop the leaderboards with Central Missouri’s second team holding a five-stroke lead over their teammates in second. Senior Brett Windsor, junior Ian Barnes and sophomore Sam Parrott all shot under par in round one to contribute to that lead.
“We had some really good play from a lot of different players,” Mules head coach Tim Poe said. “Anytime you can have both of your teams finish in the top three or four, you gotta be pleased about your depth.”
The third round came down to the Mules first team and Washburn after the second Mules team fell out of the lead. The Mules and the Ichabods traded leads through the back nine taking it all the way down to the 18th hole where Washburn held on to take first place.
“We hung in there and battled, it was a great battle,” Poe said. “They got hot early and we didn’t, but we battled back in the middle of the round and I thought we were gonna get it done there at the end.”
The Mules second team held on for third place following a rough third round that saw them shoot 18-over-par as a team.
Senior Cole Dillon took third place overall for the Mules first team shooting 3-under-par across all three rounds.
“It was a better start than last year. Our team is starting to come together,” Dillon said. “It was good to see both teams up near the top since we’re so deep this season.”
Parrot finished in fourth overall for the Mules second team with a final score of 2-under-par. Windsor managed to secure a top-10 finish after shooting three-over-par in the final round, bringing his final score to 210.
Poe said the Mules still have a lot to work on going into their next tournament, even after a successful start to the season.
“Obviously, we gotta finish a little better,” Poe said. “When it’s tight and coming down to the end you gotta knuckle down and finish.”
The Mules will be in action again Monday and Tuesday at the Northeastern State Men’s Golf Classic at the Muskogee Country Club in Muskogee, Oklahoma.