Tuesday, April 28
Indianapolis, IN
Youngstown State University
Cancelled
at
Cancelled
Horizon League Championships
2019-20 Men's Golf Season In Review
4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
The Youngstown State men's golf team earned a second-place finish at the Towson Fall Invitational and had two golfers win medalist honors during a shortened 2019-20 season. It marked the first time since the 1998-99 season that two different Penguins earned medalist honors in the same season.
From early September to early March, the Penguins competed in seven events across six different states including Florida, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Utah and West Virginia. Highlights from the season are detailed below.
Another Stellar Season for Scherr
- After an impressive sophomore campaign that earned him First-Team All-Horizon League honors, Kevin Scherr continued his strong play with a stellar 2019-20 season.
- The junior averaged a team-best 73.1 strokes per round with a low round of 64 while competing in all seven tournaments and 18 rounds. His 73.1 scoring average ranks as the third-lowest single-season mark in program history. It is also the lowest scoring average since Brandon Pluchinsky set the school record of 72.4 in 2015-16.
- Scherr earned three top-five finishes and was YSU's top finisher on three occasions. He won medalist honors for the first time against a strong field at The Heath Plan Mountaineer Invitational hosted by West Virginia with a three-round score of 213 (70-72-71). He became the first Penguin to claim medalist honors since Brandon Pluchinsky in October 2015.
- Scherr tied for second at the Towson Fall Invitational with a single-round 69, and he tied for fourth at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational with a career-best three-round total of 204 (64-69-71).
- Scherr's three-round 204 ranks as the second-lowest 54-hole mark in school history, and it is the lowest since Ross Beal set the school record with a 196 in October 2007. The junior's first-round 64 (-7) at Marshall is tied for the second-lowest round in program history, and it is the lowest since D.J. Holub carded a 64 in September 2013.
- Scherr's career scoring average of 74.8 is currently tied for the second-lowest mark by a Penguin since 2000. It would be the lowest since Pluchinsky's mark of 74.3 that was set from 2012-16.
- Scherr has now compiled four top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes during his career. He has competed in every round of every tournament that YSU has played since he became a Penguin.
Consistency from Keller
- Like Scherr, junior Ken Keller has competed in all 29 tournaments that YSU has played since they both joined the program in 2017-18.
- He provided consistency and stability to the Penguins' lineup again this season as he ranked second on the team with a 73.9 strokes-per-round average. Keller's 73.9 scoring average ranks as the fifth-lowest single-season mark in program history.
- Keller earned five top-20 finishes in seven events, was YSU's top finisher on a team-best four occasions and carded a low round of 68.
- Keller earned medalist honors for the first time at the George Mason Orlando Invitational in March with a three-round score of 221 (72-74-75). It marked his first-career top-five finish and his third in the top 10.
- He tied for 16th at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate with a three-round score of 222 (73-70-79). The Youngstown, Ohio, native tied for 18th at the Firestone Invitational with a three-round 218 (75-71-72), and he tied for 20th at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational with a career-best three-round total of 211 (72-68-71).
- Keller's three-round 211 at Marshall is tied for the eighth-lowest 54-hole mark in school history. He also tied for 20th at the Towson Fall Invitational with a single-round 75.
- Keller's career scoring average of 76.3 currently ranks as the ninth-lowest mark by a Penguin since 2000.
Penguins Finish Second at Towson Fall Invitational
- After winning the Towson Spring Invitational at Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Md., last April, YSU returned this fall to earn a second-place finish in the Towson Fall Invitational.
- First-round results were made final after the second and final round of the event was cancelled due to unplayable conditions resulting from heavy rain.
- YSU recorded an 18-hole score of 291 (+3) to finish two strokes behind the tournament champion Robert Morris and claim its best team placing of the 2019-20 campaign.
- Three Penguins placed in the top 10 of the individual standings. Scherr carded a three-under-par 69 to finish tied for second, junior C.J. Hughes tied for fourth with a 70 and redshirt freshman Derek Miller shot a 71 in his first collegiate round to finish tied for sixth.
Christman Makes Immediate Impact
- True freshman Cole Christman became a fixture in YSU's lineup during his first season as a Penguin. The Boardman, Ohio, native participated in all seven tournaments and 18 rounds while being a part of the team lineup in each of the team's first six events.
- Christman averaged 76.6 strokes per round and carded a low round of 69. He fired a low three-round score of 220 (69-79-72) at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational.
- Christman's 76.6 scoring average is the lowest by a freshman since Bill Gaffney averaged 76.6 strokes per round in 2012-13.
- Christman's best finish of the season came when he tied for ninth as an individual at the George Mason Orlando Invitational with a three-round 227 (75-78-74).
- He recorded a three-round 224 (71-77-76) at the Firestone Invitational and a 231 (80-73-78) in his collegiate debut at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate.
Depth On Display
- Youngstown State displayed the depth of its roster during the 2019-20 season, giving Head Coach Tony Joy plenty of options with his lineup. Eight of YSU's 10 players participated in at least one event while seven competed in at least three.
- Scherr, Keller, Christman and sophomore Bryan Kordupel each participated in all seven events and 18 rounds.
- Junior Zack Ford competed in five events and 13 rounds, Hughes played in four events and nine rounds and junior Justin Stark saw action in three events and eight rounds.
- Miller played one round, finishing tied for sixth at the Towson Fall Invitational with a one-under-par 71 in his collegiate debut.
- Hughes tied for fourth at Towson with a season-low round of 70. Ford (220), Kordupel (225) and Stark (226) each notched new career-low three-round scores during the season. In addition, Kordupel (71) and Stark (72) shot new career-low rounds.
- Ford tied for ninth at the George Mason Orlando Invitational with a three-round total of 227 (78-76-73). He averaged 75.9 strokes per round and turned in a low round of 71.
Another Strong Showing at Marshall
- For the fifth time in the last six seasons, YSU had a strong historical showing at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational at Guyan Golf and Country Club in Huntington, W. Va.
- The Penguins finished 10th with a three-round total of 860. YSU posted team scores of 282 and 289 in the first two rounds before carding another 289 in the final session.
- The squad's three-round 860 ranks as the fourth-lowest 54-hole mark in school history, and it is the lowest since the Guins fired an 854 at the same event in 2015-16. Three of the four lowest 54-hole scores in YSU history have now been recorded at Marshall's event.
- YSU's first-round 282 this fall ranks as the ninth-lowest 18-hole team score in program history. Four of the program's 10 lowest 18-hole marks have come at Marshall's event including two of the top three.
- The Penguins had set a new school record for lowest 36-hole performance at the event in each of the previous two seasons. YSU shot a two-round 576 in 2017-18 to best the previous record of 580, and it proceeded to break that mark with a 571 in 2018-19.
Penguins Place Fourth at George Mason Orlando Invitational
- Youngstown State earned a fourth-place finish in the George Mason Orlando Invitational at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla., in what turned out to be its final event of the season.
- The Penguins recorded a three-round total of 914 to finish in fourth place out of 11 teams. YSU posted rounds of 304 and 307 on day one before closing out the event with a 303 in the final session.
- Three Penguins finished in the top 10 of the individual standings. Keller shared medalist honors with a three-round score of 221 while Christman and Ford each carded a 227 to finish tied for ninth. In addition, Scherr tied for 18th with a three-round 230.
- YSU finished five strokes behind the runner-up Illinois Wesleyan and three shots back of third-place Oakland.
- The Guins finished more than 20 strokes ahead of Horizon League members Detroit Mercy and IUPUI, who placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Wright State won the tournament with a three-round total of 896.
Players Mentioned
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