As was the case at its previous Great Lakes Region Invitational tournament almost two weeks ago, the men’s golf team once again had to claw its way back to a respectable finish this past weekend.

Tied for 11th-place after Sunday’s round, Grand Valley State University fired a team score of 293 on Monday to finish in fourth-place (594) at the third Great Lakes Region Invite hosted at Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville, Ind. Wayne State University (580) won the tournament title, while Ferris State University (592) and the University of Indianapolis (593) finished in second and third place respectively.

Back on April 3, the Lakers moved up from 12th-place to fourth-place on the final day of action, but GVSU head coach Don Underwood said this past weekend’s performance did not feature the same disappointing performance.

“Actually we didn’t play as bad as the score turned out on the first day (Sunday),” he said. “We were playing well, but we had a couple guys late in the first round that lost quite a few shots and that kind of got us more than anything.”

Monday’s 293 came on the heels of a 301 in Sunday’s action. It was the top team score in the second round and proved to give the team momentum heading forward.

“I don’t think we were surprised with that score,” said sophomore Nick Gunthorpe. “We know we’re one of the better teams in our region and that shows in tough conditions, that we are one of the more deeper teams in the region, too.”

Sophomore Travis Shooks gave the Lakers a boost on the first day as he shot an opening round of 70. Playing in his first season at GVSU since transferring over from Grand Rapids Community College, Shooks finished in a tie for 12th place.

“It was a tough course, but if you’re playing well, you can score on it,” he said. “In the first round, we just had a good wind where most of the par 5s were reachable and we made good shots. Besides that, I just hit the ball very well and putted solid.”

Underwood said Shooks, who has been in and out of the lineup for the Lakers, has done positive things not just in the tournament but in practice rounds as well.

“I know he’s capable of being a very good player,” Underwood said. “He’s just trying to make the adjustment and trying to peel away his round in his first year. He’s had some ups and downs, but I don’t think it’s a complete surprise of what he did out there.”

Senior Matt Malloure shot back-to-back rounds of 74 to finish in a tie for 17th place, while freshman Chase Olsen tied for 28th place.

Underwood said he saw a significant difference in this tournament compared to in previous tournaments the Lakers have played this season.

“It was a good start to see guys getting under par,” Underwood said. “That’s what we’ve kind of been lacking this spring. We’ve been getting closer as each week went on, but this is actually the first weekend that I’ve seen rounds get down to under par. That’s a sign to me we’re going the right way, so we need to keep getting more of that with a lot of our guys.”

The Lakers are scheduled to play in the Outback Steakhouse Classic in Findlay, Ohio, on April 24 and 25.

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