Baylor men’s golf places eighth at Maridoe Collegiate Invitational

Junior Johnny Keefer competes at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational. Keefer finished fifth as an individual. Photo by Baylor Athletics

By Kamri Alexander | Reporter

On the opening day of the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Carrollton, only seven players in the entire tournament were able to break par, two of them being from Baylor.

Junior Johnny Keefer began impressively with three birdies in his first eight holes to finish the first day 1-under-par 71. Senior Mark Reppe started off well, also firing 2-under-par 34 in his final three holes to post a 1-under-par 71 and help put Baylor in fifth place.

On day two, Baylor fell to seventh place after shooting 8-over-par on Tuesday. Keefer climbed to the top of the individual leaderboard finishing the day in second place with a 5-under-par 67.

Reppe, after five bogeys on a tough back-nine stretch that featured seven of the nine hardest holes on the day, finished day two with a 3-over-par 75, to put himself tied for No. 12. Junior Luke Dossey also shot a 3-over-par 75 on day two, to follow up his 2-over-par 74 performance from day one to position himself at No. 24 at the end of the second day.

On the final day of the tournament sophomore Trey Bosco pushed through a rough start to the tournament to lead the team with an even-par round of 72 on day three. Keefer was close behind, finishing 1-over-par 73 and ultimately placed fifth in the overall individual leaderboards.

Reppe birdied two of his first five holes on Wednesday and recorded a third birdie of the day at No. 11, coming off back-to-back bogeys. However, two more bogeys later on, would put him at 3-over-par 75, matching Dossey for the day. Reppe finished the tournament in a tie for No. 20 as an individual, while Dossey just missed a top-25 finish, tying for No. 28.

Baylor would finish the final day and tournament in eighth place in a competitive 15-team field. Head coach Mike McGraw said the team can use this as a learning experience.

“We had some bright spots this week and learned a lot that will help us going forward,” McGraw said. “Johnny Keefer led us well this week.”

The Bears are headed to Olympia Fields, Ill., to compete in the Fighting Illini Invitational from Friday to Sunday at Olympia Fields Country Club.