Wooster Opens Season in Middle of Closely-Contested Field at Own Gatorade Collegiate

The College of Wooster men's golfers were among the teams separated by just 10 strokes between second- and sixth-place at the closely-contested, season-opening Gatorade Collegiate, which Wooster hosted at Zoar Village Golf Course, about 15 miles south of Canton, Ohio, on Saturday and Sunday. The Fighting Scots ultimately took fourth, right in the middle of the seven-team field.

Wooster, playing without its anticipated No. 1 golfer, Marcus Carano, who is studying abroad during the fall semester, shot an even 300 over the first 18 holes of the par-72, 6,736-yard course. That put the Scots in third and just three behind leader John Carroll University.

Day two saw Wooster compile a similar score of 302 for a 602 total, narrowly off the pace of runner-up John Carroll (596) and third-place Muskingum University (600), while the University of Mount Union fired a 287 to take the team title at 586. The Scots edged Baldwin Wallace University (606), with Hiram College (638) and Westminster (Pa.) College (650) well back.

A blistering round of one-under 71 on Sunday pushed senior Jay Selby to the top of Wooster's leaderboard and in a tie for 13th overall (150). He recorded four birdies each day, highlighted by three in a four-hole stretch on Sunday – the par-five seventh, the par-four ninth, and the par-four 10th – and his eight overall tied for the tournament lead.

Scot teammates Michael Bay, a sophomore, and Brenden Tully, a freshman, finished very close to Selby. Bay's 73 and 78 tied for 15th (151) and Tully, who accounted for the lone eagle of any of the 48 competitors, carded back-to-back 76s in his collegiate debut. The eagle came during the second 18, as he needed just three on the par-five, 495-yard 14th hole.

Also scoring each day was junior Calvin Milligan via a 78 and 77, and sophomore Scott Sears tied for a team low on Saturday with a 73 as part of a top-20 individual showing (154). Competing as an individual, sophomore Jackson Groat tied with Milligan for 23rd-place (155) as the former went under 80 in both rounds.

Wooster continues its fall schedule next weekend at the Mount Union Fall Invitational.