Freshman Trey Rusthoven Leads Men's Golf With a 1-under 71 in Final Round at Challenging Mountaineer Invitational

Tuesday, April 16

Bridgeport, W.V. (Pete Dye Golf Club)

All Day

Central Michigan University

Mountaineer Invitational

Freshman Trey Rusthoven posted a 1-under 71 on Tuesday during the final round of the Mountaineer Invitational in Bridgeport, W. Va.

Freshman Trey Rusthoven Leads Men's Golf With a 1-under 71 in Final Round at Challenging Mountaineer Invitational

4/16/2024 7:45:00 PM | Men's Golf

Team Standings Leaderboard

Chippewas turn their focus to MAC Championship

By: Andy Sneddon

BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. – Freshman Trey Rusthoven tied his career best with a 1-under par 71 on Tuesday in leading the Central Michigan men's golf team during the final round of the Mountaineer Invitational, hosted by West Virginia, at Pete Dye Golf Club.

Rusthoven led the Chippewas to a 296 team total, their best score of the three-round, 54-hole event.

CMU opened on Monday with a 312 and then posted a 311 in the second round on Monday afternoon.

That the Chippewas improved their score by 15 shots from the second round to the third is a credit, coach Kevin Jennings said, to their preparation and their ability to adjust after having seen the course, located in the Appalachian Mountains and is No. 87 on Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Courses.

"Pete Dye designed over 300 courses and this one has his name on it," Jennings said. "It's a very challenging venue. The guys were up for the opportunity to compete at such a venue, and it was just a matter of getting some familiarity with it and the more familiar we got with it, the better we were going to do."

The Chippewas finished in 14^th place in the 16-team field with a 919 total, eight shots behind Robert Morris and Xavier, which tied for 12^th at 911.

The tournament served as CMU's final competition before the Mid-American Conference Championship, which is scheduled for The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind., April 26-28.

"We're very excited and anticipate good things like we have all season coming in from last year," said Jennings, who guided his team to a sixth-place finish in the nine-team MAC Championship a year ago, when the Chippewas played in the tournament for the first time since 1985.

"We look forward to the opportunity to compete with the other teams in the conference and compete at a high level," Jennings said. "The schedule that we've had, we're hoping that that schedule has prepared us to go to the MAC and do what it is we should do, which is execute at a high level and continue to elevate our program."

Rusthoven's five-birdie, three-bogey final round moved him up 22 spots and into a tie for 45th place with a 228 total in the 90-player field. He opened the tournament with an 80 and then shot 5-over 77 in the second round.

"He was executing our game plan, which is making sure you're putting the ball in the right spots to give yourself an opportunity into the green and making sure that you're hitting the greens in the right spots like you should on a Dye course," Jennings said. "His short game was a little better as well. It was just overall better management and better execution by him. It's what he's capable of."

Also for CMU on Tuesday, Philippe Yturralde posted a 2-over 74, Arie Jackman shot 3-over 75, Easton Phillips carded a 4-over 76, and Jeffrey Andrus came in with a 6-over 78.

It was the best round of the tournament for Yturralde and Phillips, and Jackman matched his second-round 75.

Jackman finished in a tie for 52^nd place with a 229 total, while Yturralde (230) finished among a group tied for 58^th, Andrus (234) tied for 77^th, and Phillips (239) finished tied for 84^th.

Carson Kammann of West Virginia closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at 10-under 206 as he claimed medalist honors by one shot over teammate Jackson Davenport.

The Mountaineers, who are ranked 81^st nationally, closed with a 276 team total on Tuesday to finish at 18-under 846. They won by 28 shots over runner-up Marshall.