The Hillsdale College men's golf team played its best round at the end on Tuesday, but couldn't fully overcome a rough first day in a 16th-place finish at the Ken Partridge Invitational at the Purgatory Golf Club.

The Chargers shot a 291 in the final round, led by a two-under 70 from sophomore Ryan O'Rourke, to hold steady in the field and finish with a 296-307-291=894.

Freshman Jackson Piacsek was the top overall finisher for Hillsdale, shooting a one-under par 71 in the opening round to finish six over tied for 41st with a 71-77-74=222. O'Rourke was two strokes back at eight over par in a tie for 49th place, rallying with that two-under-par round of 70 to finish with a 76-78-70=224.

Robert Thompson carded a 72-79-74=225 to finish tied for 56th as well for Hillsdale, Maxwell Burns shot a 77-77-73=227 to finish tied for 68th, and Chris Desfassiaux carded a 78-75-80=233 to finish tied for 99th for the Chargers.

Hillsdale played the short holes well in the tournament, finishing with the second-lowest team score in the invitational on Par 3s at nine-over. That performance wasn't quite enough to overcome uncharacteristic struggles on Par 5s and a lack of pars overall for the round, both typical strengths for the Chargers.

The only event remaining for Hillsdale before the selection of the NCAA Regional field is the G-MAC Championships, scheduled to be held on April 21-23 at the BelTerra Resort in Florence, Indiana. While a disappointing result this week likely won't put the Chargers on the wrong side of the bubble, Hillsdale will need a solid finish in the conference championship to lock up their first NCAA berth as a team since 2021. A top four performance in the championship should lock the Chargers in, and Hillsdale will aim to peak at the right time.

Photo by Tiffany Treppa