The Youngstown State men's golf team will conclude the fall portion of its 2025-26 season on Monday and Tuesday when it competes in the Xavier Invitational at Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Penguins are coming off their first tournament victory of the season after claiming the team crown at the three-day Bucknell Invitational, which concluded on Tuesday from Bucknell Golf Club in Lewisburg, Pa.
The Guins were in ninth place and 11 shots off the lead after posting a single-round team score of 292 (+12) in the tournament's opening round on Sunday. YSU responded by firing a tournament and season-low team round of 277 (-3) in Monday's second session to catapult to the top of the team leaderboard. The Penguins brought home the tournament title with a 288 (+8) in the third and final round on Tuesday, holding off the field and finishing five strokes in front of runner-up Robert Morris with a three-round total of 857 (+17). YSU's 857 matches the eighth-lowest 54-hole performance in school history.
Youngstown State's second-round 277 on Monday is tied for the fourth-lowest 18-hole score in program history, and it is the lowest single-round mark for the Guins since recording a 276 at the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 10, 2021.
Three Penguins finished in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard at the Bucknell Invitational as Ryan Sam and Rocco Turner each tied for fifth and Jordan Kish tied for 15th. Sam and Turner each earned the highest individual finish of their career to power YSU to its second team triumph in as many fall campaigns.
The tournament field at the Xavier Invitational will feature 10 other schools including Air Force, Detroit Mercy, Florida A&M, IU Indianapolis, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky, Purdue Fort Wayne, Southern Indiana, St. John's and Xavier. Additionally, Ohio State and Tennessee Tech will have players participating as individuals only.
The field is scheduled to play 36 continuous holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday in the two-day, 54-hole event. Monday's opening round is slated to begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. while tee times off No. 1 and No. 10 for Tuesday's final round will begin at 8:30 a.m. The course will play approximately 7,109 yards and par is 70. Live scoring will be available via Scoreboard through links posted on YSUsports.com.
Head Coach Tony Joy has announced that YSU's five-player team lineup will feature Sam, Nolan Shilling, Kish, Michael Porter and Turner.
Kish, Porter, Sam and Shilling have competed in each of YSU's first five events this fall while Turner has participated in four tournaments.
For the latest news and updates throughout the 2025-26 season, follow @YSUMensGolf on X and Instagram.
