Nate Davis Finishes Third in 2015 WIU Carlton Oaks Invitational

The senior captain finished with a 227 after carding scores of 75, 77 and 75

FINAL RESULTS (.PDF)

SANTEE, Calif. - The Western Illinois men's golf squad wrapped up play in the Second Annual WIU Carlton Oaks Invitational Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 10) in fourth place. The Fighting Leathernecks concluded action with a 949 after posting scores of 314, 317 and 318 in the two-day, 54-hole event that took place at the Carlton Oaks Golf Course.

DePaul won the event with a three-round score of 915 (295-318-302) led by Freddy Thomas who finished first overall with a 224 (73-79-72).

"We had really good weather, probably the best weather we've had coming out here, and I thought the tournament itself went really well," said head coach Mel Blasi. "We had great competition and DePaul played very well, they deserved to win. They came close to winning it last year, so they got a little redemption and played really well."

Nate Davis led Western and finished in third overall with a 227. The senior captain finished the third round with a 75 after posting scores of 75 and 77 in rounds one and two. Davis led the entire field with 38-of-52 holes parred.

"Nate (Davis) has been terrific for us, very consistent," stated coach Blasi. "He was two shots out of the lead and finished third, so another very consistent invite for him. There were only a couple shots here and there that he missed, otherwise he would have been the champion this year. Nate is still looking for that individual medalist, that's his goal, but he has obviously been our bright spot this year."

Jumping up from last in the team standings to second was Andrew Blackburn. The sophomore hit a 78 in the final round after entering the day with a 164 (87-77). Blackburn led the team in birdies with five.

"Andrew (Blackburn) played very well for us the final two rounds. It was nice to have him compliment Nate. After that, our theme all year has been that we have struggled to find that third and fourth score. If you look at the scores this week, we would have been right up near the top if we would have been able to post good third and fourth scores. We have a ways to go, but we have to look at the bright spots as well," concluded Blasi.

Right behind Blackburn was Austin Von Alst and Alex Templin who finished tied for 23rd and 25th, respectively. Von Alst finished with a 243 (77-83-83), while Templin concluded the event with a 244 (80-82-82).

Sophomore Carter Morrison tied for 29th with a 248. Morrison recorded an 82 in round one, an 81 in the second round, and finished the invite with an 85.

Sean Miller, a freshman golfer, finished tied for 31st place. Miller, who led the field in par-five scoring (-3), recorded a 250 after tallying scores of 82, 86 and 82.

WIU is back in action Feb. 27-28 with the Gary Freeman Spring Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla. The event is hosted by Bethune-Cookman.

WESTERN ILLINOIS TEAM STANDINGS:
3. Nate Davis: 75-77-75-227
T20. Andrew Blackburn: 87-77-78-242
T23. Austin Von Alst: 77-83-83-243
T25. Alex Templin: 80-82-82-244
T29. Carter Morrison: 82-81-85-248
T31. Sean Miller: 82-86-82-250 (Individual)

OVERALL TEAM STANDINGS:
1. DePaul: 295-318-302-915
2. Grand Canyon: 306-315-296-917
3. Butler: 314-303-308-925
4. Western Illinois: 314-317-318-949
5. Drake: 322-324-312-958
6. CSU Bakersfield: 320-320-319-959

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Blackburn: Sophomore; Sterling

Nate Davis: Senior; West Central

Carter Morrison: Sophomore; Cameron

Alex Templin: Junior; Brown County

Austin Von Alst: Sophomore; Belleville Althoff

Sean Miller: Freshman; East

Players Mentioned

Andrew Blackburn
: Sophomore; Sterling

Nate Davis
: Senior; West Central

Carter Morrison
: Sophomore; Cameron

Alex Templin
: Junior; Brown County

Austin Von Alst
: Sophomore; Belleville Althoff

Sean Miller
: Freshman; East