The Hillsdale College golf team saved its best round for last at the Doc Spragg Invitational this week at the Findlay Country Club in Findlay, Ohio.

Hillsdale shot an even-par 288, its best showing at the event by six strokes, to climb three places in the standings and finish seventh out of 19 teams with a 54-hole total of 877 strokes.

The Chargers combined for three eagles and 12 birdies in Tuesday's final round, with three players shooting par or better after having just one player under par in the first two rounds combined.

Sophomore Ryan O'Rourke led the final day charge for Hillsdale, shaking off two difficult rounds of 76 and 78 on Monday to fire a two-under-par 70, with an eagle, two birdies and just two bogeys. Fellow sophomore Robert Thompson also carded his second of two under-par rounds in the three round event, finishing with a one-over par 71 with an eagle and four birdies.

His strong final round helped Thompson jump up 15 spots to an 11th-place tie in the final individual standings, just missing a fifth-straight top 10 finish dating back to last season in what has been an impressive run for the North Carolina native. For the event, Thompson shot a 74-71-71=216.

Freshman Jackson Piacsek shot an even-par 72 in the final round to finish tied for 25th in another solid outing for the Chargers in his first season, shooting a 74-73-72=219 for the event. Fellow freshman Aryan Sharma and junior Maxwell Burns both posted consistent scores across the rounds to finish in the top half of the field, with Sharma carding a 73-75-75=223 and Burns finishing with a 74-75-75=224.

As a team, Hillsdale once again feasted on Par 5s, shooting a combined -22 on those holes that was second only to team champion Grand Valley State. Thompson was a major part of that success, going -10 on par 5s alone to shoot even-par for the invitational, and tying for the tournament lead with two eagles on Par 5s.

The Chargers also led all teams in eagles with five, and in pars with 172. Both Sharma and O'Rourke were among the invitational's best at recording pars, with Sharma finishing second among all players with 40 and O'Rourke tying for third with 38.

 Hillsdale finishes off the fall portion of its schedule next Monday, traveling to Farmington, Pennsylvania for the Nemacolin Intercollegiate, a 54-hole tournament that includes top regional teams Grand Valley St., Missouri-St. Louis , Ashland and Findlay as well as a powerhouse North Georgia squad.

Photo Courtesy of Findlay Athletics