Eric Johnson Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
Eric Johnson Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
The NMU men's golf team concluded the first round of the DU Panther Invitational in Battle Creek, Michigan, securing 7th place out of 12 teams. Brady Badker and Walter Ylitalo led the team with notable performances.
The Wildcats achieved a combined score of +19 (307), averaging 76.75 over four rounds contributing to the team total. This performance was better than the course average of 77.72 from 69 rounds.
In the standings, NMU is part of a competitive group with Purdue Northwest leading at +13 in 6th place, followed by NMU at +19 in 7th, Lewis at +20 in 8th, and LSSU at +22 in 9th. Ohio Dominican leads overall at -7, closely followed by Saginaw Valley at -6, with Gannon and Davenport tied at even par.
The Wildcats were among six teams that shot under par on the par fives (-2) and recorded one of three eagles during the round.
Brady Badker and Walter Ylitalo both finished T24 individually with scores of 76 (+4). Badker's round began on hole 11 where he faced challenges but managed to recover by shooting one-under over his next thirteen holes. His round included a birdie on the fourth hole and an eagle on the seventh hole. He completed his day with a scorecard showing a front nine of 35 (-1) and a back nine of 41 (+5).
Walter Ylitalo started his round on hole nine and quickly secured two birdies within his first five holes. Despite facing difficulties mid-round, he finished strong without any bogeys over his final six holes to end at +4 for the day.
Arthur Ylitalo finished just one stroke behind Badker and Walter Ylitalo with a score of +5 (77), tying for T30 individually. He also started with a bogey but improved significantly toward the end with birdies on two holes.
Tyler Annala was another key player for NMU, finishing one shot behind Arthur Ylitalo with a score of +6 (78), which included birdies on two different holes.
Russell Sprecher ended his round at +8 (80), while Levi Pennala competed as an individual participant recording a score of +11 (83).
Further results and live scoring updates for tomorrow are available online.
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