Saint Louis University’s men’s golf came frighteningly close to
winning the John Dallio Memorial Invitational hosted by DePaul at
the Prairie Landing Golf Club in West Chicago on Sept. 28.
Led by junior David Perritt, who finished fifth out of 75
golfers with a 218 (+2) after rounds of 78,71 and 69, the Billikens
finished an agonizing three strokes behind the winners from
Southern Illinois.
The other Billiken to finish in the top 10 was Ryan Blechle, who
finished seventh after a three-round total of 220 (+4).
Senior Tony Harmon finished a respectable 24th with a
three-round total of 224 (+8), but mentioned, “I was looking to
finish in the top 10, but finishing second as a team wasn’t bad at
all for us. This was a good way to get the ball rolling in the
right direction.” The other two Billikens who competed in the
invitational were junior Barry O’Neill and senior Evan Frederick
who finished 28th and 43rd respectively.
When asked about how close the team came to winning the
tournament, Harmon lamented, “It was definitely very frustrating
because the door was open and we had the opportunity to win it. We
made a couple of bogeys that really hurt us. It was right there for
us to take.” However, Harmon was optimistic, saying that
improvements would be made by “practicing more, working on our
approaches, and just putting everything together. We also need to
work together at the same pace for the big tournaments coming
up.”
Harmon also mentioned, “The team gets along really well together
and we’re always laughing or joking. The five of us will probably
continue to start for the rest of the year.”
Harmon is able to recognize that forming cohesive bonds between
teammates and style of play is essential to any sport, including
golf. He concluded by mentioning that his team has big aspirations
to “play better and be ready for the post-season.”
Southern Illinois placed three of their golfers in the top 10
while the individual winner was Notre Dame’s Tom Balderston, who
finished with a 213 (-3). The Billiken golf team will be in action
again in Tulsa, Okla., for the Shangrila Shootout hosted by Oral
Roberts on Oct. 23 and 24.
