Beavers Finish Fifth At The Jackrabbit

Tuesday, September 27

Valentine, Neb.

All Day

Oregon State

The Jackrabbit

Conner Kumpula

Photo by: Oregon State Athletics

September 27, 2016 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring The Jackrabbit - Final Results

By: Oregon State Communications

VALENTINE, Neb. – The Oregon State men's golf team had a solid start to its 2016-17 season, finishing in fifth place against a competitive 12-team field at The Jackrabbit on Tuesday.

The Beavers shot a 6-under 293-281-284--858 at the par-72, 7,785-yard Dunes Course at the Prairie Club to finish fifth behind Clemson (17-under 847), Missouri (15-under 849), UCF (10-under 854) and South Dakota State (9-under 855).

The tournament was slated for 18 holes over three days, but the opening round on Sunday was cancelled due to high winds in the area. The teams played the first round and part of the second round on Monday and concluded the tourney in better weather conditions on Tuesday.

"Overall, it was a solid start for our first event of the year," Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. "There are lots of positives to take away. It's always good to have four guys in the top 25 and to get contributions from everyone in the lineup."

Kevin Murphy started his senior campaign with a bang, posting his seventh career top-10 finish with a tie for sixth place. The Rogue River, Ore., native fired a career-best 6-under 66 in the second round, sandwiched by a pair of 1-over 73's, to finish with a 4-under 73-66-73--212.

His previous best score was a 5-under 67 as a junior in the second round at the Amer Ari Invitational. The 4-under 212 was just one short shy of his best three-round score, a 5-under 211, which he carded as a sophomore at the Amer Ari Invitational.

Senior Conner Kumpula also recorded a top-10 finish, a tie for 10th place, after finishing with a 1-under 73-73-69--215. His 3-under 69 in the final round equaled the best score of the day in the 64-player field and was the 11th sub-par round of his career.

Kumpula now has four top-10 finishes with all of them coming in his junior and senior seasons. His best career finish is a tie for fourth place at last spring's Redhawk Invitational in University Place, Wash.

After opening the tournament with a 5-over 77, junior Jonas Liebich responded with a pair of 2-under 70's to finish in a tie for 20th place with a 1-over 217. He had two sub-par rounds as a freshman, four as a sophomore and two already after the first tournament as a junior.

Freshman Shawn Lu was impressive in his first collegiate tournament, shooting a 2-over 74-72-72--218 to finish in a tie for 22nd place. He had two eagles and 10 birdies over the three rounds, and narrowly missed a hole-in-one on the par-4 11th hole in the second round.

Senior Calum Hill finished in a tie for 46th place with an 8-over 73-75-76--224.

"We are looking forward to getting home and getting back to work as we prepare for California in just over a week," Reehoorn said."

The Beavers have two weeks off before competing on Monday, Oct. 10 and Tuesday, Oct. 11 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif.

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