University of Missouri
Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational
No. 24 @MizzouMensGolf Heads to Hawaii to Close Out Fall Season
10/29/2016 11:09:00 AM | Men's Golf
Tigers teeing it up at Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational from Oct. 30-Nov. 1
KAUA'I, Hawaii - Mizzou Men's Golf has played well enough during its fall campaign to earn a Top 25 national ranking from GolfStat, and head coach Mark Leroux's squad looks to put a stamp on its first half of the season with a strong showing on the beautiful course at the Princeville Makai Golf Club in Kaua'i.
Mizzou will be joined out on the islands by Arizona State (22), Mississippi (25), Cal Poly, Colorado State, East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, UMKC, Sam Houston State, San Diego, San Francisco, Pepperdine, Princeton, UC Irvine and Utah Valley.
The Tigers have finished all three of their competitive events in the Top 2 as a team, while also placing at least one golfer in the Top 5, individually. The outstanding play of the senior duo of Euan Walker (Troon, Scotland) and Linus Lilliedahl (Sandviken, Sweden) has been supplemented by steady contributions by all others that have started for Leroux this season.
For Walker, the 2016-17 campaign has put his full skill level on display. His stroke average of 70.2 on the season is 2.5 strokes lower than at any point in his career. Walker has eight rounds under-par in nine rounds played this season, and has shot all three 54-hole tournaments under-par, which ties the events under-par he has played in the rest of his college career combined. Walker is currently GolfWeek's 82nd-ranked golfer.
Lilliedahl, the second half of the dynamic senior duo, is playing the highest level of golf of his career, and is shooting nearly stroke for stroke with Walker. Lilliedahl, ranked 70th overall by GolfWeek, has finished in the Top 5 in all three of Mizzou's events. That includes a fifth-place finish at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, where he shattered his career best 54-hole score by shooting a 206. Lilliedahl's stroke average of 70.1 is a team low, and is three strokes better than at any point in his college career.
In the third spot for the Tigers is junior Hayden Buckley (Belden, Miss.), who got the opportunity to shake off rust at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, and is rounding into form after being injured for the first part of the fall season. In his first action of the season, Buckley looked consistent, as he finished tied for 28th overall, shooting a solid 216.
Following Buckley in the lineup is freshman Rory Franssen (Iverness, Scotland), who will again see the course after not traveling to the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. The true freshman displayed excellence at both the Turning Stone Intercollegiate, where he finished tied for 13th, and the Jackrabbit Invitational, where he finished tied for eighth.
In the fifth and final spot for Mizzou is junior Trevor Ullestad (Jewell, Iowa). Like Franssen, his start as a newcomer has helped elevate Mizzou's team scores.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the tournament from GolfStat here.
