Leathernecks finish third at Summit League Championship

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Western Illinois seniors Jake Weeber and Brian Scott both earned all-championship honors and the Fighting Leatherneck men's golf team finished third at The Summit League Championship, which concluded Tuesday at the Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club.

Weeber tied a career best by finishing in third place with a three-round total of 217 (71-73-73) while Scott finished a stroke back to tie for fourth at 218 (71-73-74).

“Jake finished just a stroke out of medalist and Brian was just two strokes back. They both just played so well,” said Western Illinois coach Mel Blasi. “They closed out their season careers playing their best golf, and that was great to see.”

Weeber and Scott had the Leathernecks within striking distance of the team's fifth title under Blasi's tutelage, but Western saw a two-stroke lead dissolve over the final round. Western held its lead throughout most of Tuesday, but the final three holes proved costly for the Leathernecks as they finished with a three-round total of 887. Oral Roberts repeated as league champion at 885 while UMKC came in second at 886.

“We had a nice lead going into the last three holes, but they are very difficult holes and they gave us a lot of trouble,” Blasi said. “We played the last three holes at 13 over and that was the difference in the tournament.”

Sophomore Andrew Godfrey provided the highlight of the day for the Leathernecks by hitting a hole-in-one on the fifth hole. Godfrey went on to shoot a team-best 71 for the day to finish at 225 (80-74-71) to tie for 12th.

“Andrew's play today was awesome. It was very inspiring for the rest of the team,” Blasi said. “Andrew finished the season very strong, which bodes well for us heading into next season.”

Senior Kyle Peterman, Western's undisputed No. 1 throughout the season, struggled with back spasms during Monday's second round, and couldn't recover in the final round. Peterman finished in a tie for 16th at 227 (71-76-80).

“He was barely able to walk when he finished yesterday. For him to finish at 76 in the second round was great,” Blasi said. “He didn't complain of any pain today, but it obviously affected his play because he didn't play like he has all year.”

Rounding out the scoring for the Leathernecks, Ryan Franks finished off his Western Illinois career in 45th place at 244 (84-79-81).

The Leathernecks closed out a successful season that saw the team place in the top three in nine out of 12 tournaments.

“It's been a great season. Nobody has been more consistent than us,” Blasi said. “The players are all a little shell-shocked right now, but they will remember the highlights of this season and the success we had.”

While the season is over for the Leathernecks, Peterman has a shot at drawing an at-large bid into the NCAA Midwest Regional May 20-22 at The Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind. Selection for placement in the NCAA postseason will take place Monday, May10.

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