By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Closing out the fall under clear Hawaiian skies, No. 15 Baylor men’s golf finished strong with a third-place finish at the Kapolei Invitational on Thursday at Kapolei Golf Club.
Led by senior Trey Bosco’s fourth career top-5 finish with a 14-under 202, the Bears matched their way to a 47-under 817 over the course of the three-day event — the third-best 54-hole score in program history. Baylor finished behind tournament winner Loyola Marymount University, which capped off the tournament with a 22-under en route to a 58-under 806, and Florida Gulf Coast University, which finished second at 51-under 813.
“We really only struggled in the middle round this week,” head coach Mike McGraw said. “Our first and last rounds were solid. One of our offseason goals will be to wedge the ball better. Our wedges cost us a lot of shots this week. Overall, I am happy with this fall campaign.”
Bosco opened his final round strong with a bogey-free front nine, which included birdies at Nos. 3 and 9. His lone bogey came on No. 10 but rebounded nicely with birdies on Nos. 12, 13 and 18 to close out his fall. The senior’s 14-under 202 tied for the seventh-best 54-hole score in program history and surpassed his previous career-best round.
Alongside Bosco’s strong showing, graduate students Johnny Keefer and Luke Dossey each tallied 12-under 204 on the week, earning themselves spots in the top 10 and tying each other for eighth place. Like Bosco, Dossey played a clean front nine and added a pair of birdies to his score. On the back, Dossey negated two bogeys with three more birdies to finish the day strong.
Keefer ran into a roadblock with an early bogey at No. 2 but found six birdies throughout the rest of the day to card a 5-under 67 on the final day. With his performance on the week, Keefer’s career stroke average improved to 71.51, overtaking Jimmy Walker for the lowest in program history.
Junior Zach Heffernan carded a 3-under 69 on the final day of play to finish in a tie for 37th, while sophomore Jonas Appel closed out the team scoring in a tie for 50th, backed by a career-best 67 on Thursday.
In addition to the team, the Bears saw five individuals compete. The best performance came from graduate student Tyler Isenhart, who finished the week tied for 25th. Senior Luke Morgan (tied for 55th), freshman Davis Ovard (tied for 91st), freshman Patricio Gonzalez (tied for 102nd) and sophomore Sam Dossey (112th) all closed out the fall in the tournament as well.
The Bears will take a pause and pick their clubs back up in the spring when they head out to Palm Springs, Calif., to take part in The Prestige in February.
