LIGONIER, Pa. – The first-year pair of Sawyer Slate (Walnut Cove, N.C.) and Holden Yakola (Mebane, N.C.) represented well, but a brutal day two saw the No. 23 nationally ranked Guilford College men's golf team fall to a finish of 15^th with a team score of 922 (+58) at the Tartan Invitational hosted by Carnegie Mellon University at Laurel Valley Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday.

Cool yet clear conditions in the mid-to-upper 60's on Monday yielded to some picturesque golfing weather in the 70's on Tuesday as the competition went uninfluenced by precipitation. The longest competition by yardage that the Quakers have attended thus far this season, Laurel Valley challenges players with 7,258 yards of greens and fairways as a par-72 course. Another marque Division-III tournament, over half of the most recent Bushnell/Golfweek top-25 was in attendance, with 13 ranked squads and another two receiving votes. No. 3 Emory University topped the field with a score of 875 (+11) followed by the hosts, No. 6 Carnegie Mellon at 879 (+15), who rose six spots on the final day to finish as the runners-up. The Tartans flexed their depth too, with their B-team actually finishing even with No. 8 Methodist University in third with 887 (+23) strokes. In fairness to Guilford, pretty much everyone had a tough time over the two days, as the course permitted an average score of 76.71 (+5), only four individual golfers finished the event at-or-below par, and just two team rounds cracked even, Emory's second round and CMU's third. That said, Guilford's final 18 was tied as the third-worst team score by any squad, resulting in them dropping a trio of spots and finishing last among the quartet of Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) schools. No. 25 University of Lynchburg led the league members in attendance, claiming seventh with a score of 900 (+36) followed by No. 12 Washington & Lee University tied for eighth at 903 (+39), and (RV) Hampden-Sydney College at 916 (+52).

Yakola led the Quaker lineup for the second-straight event, opening with the best round any Guilford golfer would have over the two days and never relinquishing the top spot on the GC scorecard the rest of the way. Opening his event with a bogey on the par-three fifth, he settled nicely with three par pins and a birdie on seven to reach the turn even. A double-bogey on 10 and one-over on 14, two holes that proved troublesome throughout the competition for Yakola, left an impact on an otherwise level back-nine, before a birdie on one and three more pars resulted in a 74 (+2) on the opening trip. His second venture mirrored his round one open of a bogey, par, birdie, but got tougher from there. He got a one-under on 17 but countered that with one-over pins on 10, 14, and four to finish the round with a 76 (+4). Yakola's Tuesday morning round was a mixed bag, opening his round with a birdie on 11, flipping the pesky fifth pin into a one-under, and adding another birdie on six. However, he also struggled managing some holes, with two-overs on 13, 14, and one, plus bogeys on 16 and 10 to bring his round score to 77 (+5). Yakola performed well despite all that thanks to a lot of par golf, ranking tied for eighth among competitors with a team-leading 34 pars while his eight one-over holes were the third-fewest of any player, securing a tie for 38^th overall with 227 (+11) stokes.

Fellow freshman, Sawyer Slate, finished just a couple of strokes behind his first-year counterpart, checking in with a 229 (+13) score and tie for 44^th. Also opening his event on the fifth hole, Slate bogeyed before immediately recovering with a birdie on the ensuing hole. The rest of his first round was a bunch of breakeven golf, racking up a dozen par pins, the third-most of any Quaker in any round in the event. A stretch of three bogeys in a four-hole span from nine through 12 was difficult, as was a three-over on the par-five 18^th, but his 78 (+6) strokes was good enough to contribute to the GC scoring. Slate did great in his afternoon trip, though, settling some early turbulence that saw him post just one par hole over his first-seven, recording three birdies, on seven, eight, and 11, two bogeys, on five and 10, and a two-above, on nine. The rest of the way was steady, par golf again, with one-above pins on 16 and 17 as the only blemishes on an otherwise even final 11 holes to finish tied for Guilford's best score in the second round, at 75 (+3) score. Beginning day two on the 11^th hole, Slate started on a heater, racking up three birdies over his first-four holes while not losing a stoke against par until 18 pacing toward the best round of any Quaker at the event. His front nine was rough though, with one-overs on one, four, seven, eight, and nine, plus a two-above on two though a birdie on six helped out. Despite the rollercoaster, Slate once again finished as GC's leading scorer, standing alone this time with a 76 (+4).

Unfortunately, the veteran Quakers could not sustain the efforts of the underclassmen, with Larsen Gallimore (Walnut Cove, N.C.) and Gavin Peach (Charlotte, N.C.) tying for 70^th and Braeden Gillen (Holly Springs, N.C.) finishing tied for 76^th out of the 90-player field, with each of them rotating into the fifth, non-scoring slot.

Gallimore opened fine with his first round. Starting on five, he went even on his first-seven holes going bogey, birdie, par, birdie, bogey, then two more par pins. He offset three more birdies on 15, 18, and two with four bogeys and a two-above on 17 with all of that netting him a good, score of 75 (+3). Unfortunately, he could not sustain his season-high five opening-round birdies and did not benefit from a below-par pin the rest of the way. His second round saw six bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys to accrue 82 (+10) strokes in a round that would get thrown out. His third trip was not much better with seven holes at one-over and another at two-above to shoot an 83 (+9) and finish with an overall score of 238 (+22).

Peach also shot a 238 (+22) and like Gallimore, he started great. While his first round only saw a single birdie, on eight, he racked up 13 pars, tied for the most of any Quaker in any round, while his four bogeys brought him to a perfectly respectable 75 (+3). His second round was strong too, even registering an eagle on his opening pin. Four bogeys on the back nine was fine, then he straddled a three-over on four with a tandem of birdies on three and five to finish tied atop the Guilford scorecard in round two with another 75 (+3) score. Peach's finish is one he'd rather forget though, sinking 38 places with an 88 (+16) final round that did not factor into the GC score but did lead to other tough finishes counting.

Rounding out the Guilford lineup was Gillen. His first round would be inconsequential, after opening on five, birdieing on seven, then bogeying or worse on seven of the next 10 holes, ultimately finishing with an 80 (+8). The junior's second round was his best, splitting a bogey and birdie on his first-two holes before a run of eight par pins across his ensuing nine. The finish was tough, with five bogeys offsetting a birdie on two, but his score of 77 (+5) was right around the event average. Gillen's final 18 was unkind, however, as he actually started with two birdies, on 12 and 13, and finished with another one on 11, but racked up six bogeys, two doubles, and a three-above hole inbetween to finish with a countable score of 83 (+11) stokes and an overall mark of 240 (+24).

Guilford looks to turn the page next Monday and Tuesday, October 19 and 20, at the Jeff Roope Invitational hosted by Wittenberg University at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio.

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