Oct. 2, 2011

Final Rod Myers Invitational Results

DURHAM, N.C. - Thanks to a trio of top-10 individual finishes, the Baylor men's golf team made a final-round push Sunday to finish second at the Rod Myers Invitational.

Baylor finished the tournament at 6-over (291-289-290=870), nine strokes behind host and RMI champion, Duke, which shot 3-under. Charlotte, which entered the final round with a two-stroke lead, finished third at 8-over, followed by Iowa at 19-over and Tulsa at 22-over.

Baylor has opened the season with three straight top-two finishes for the first time in the Big 12 era. Since winning the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate in September to open the season, the Bears have finished second in their last two tournaments.

"Despite the cold and windy conditions, I thought we played well both days," head coach Greg Priest said. "The weather factor was definitely a change for us, but I thought the course played harder in the final round. We managed to get off to a great start Sunday."

One of only three golfers to finish the RMI under-par, senior Joakim Mikkelsen carded a final-round 70, the second-lowest score of the final round. Mikkelsen shot 1-under (73-72-70=215) for the tournament, finishing third overall. It is Mikkelsen's third straight top-10 finish to open the season, moving him into a fifth-place tie in school history with 14 career top-10 performances. Mikkelsen also moved into a four-way tie for fifth place in school history with seven career top-five finishes.

Mikkelsen began the final round 2-over through eight holes, but an eagle on the par-5 No. 9 dropped him to even-par on the front nine. Birdies on 11 and 14 put the Drammen, Norway, native under-par for the first time in the final round. After a bogey on No. 15, a birdie on No. 17 helped him finish the day at 2-under.

Both Lorenzo Scotto and Ryan O'Rear tied for 10th at 2-over 218. Scotto was 4-under for the day with three holes to play, but finished 1-under after a double-bogey on No. 16 and a bogey on No. 18. O'Rear was even through nine holes before bogeys on No. 10 and 18 to finish 2-over.

Drew McGee finished at 8-over 224, good for a 21st-place tie, while Kyle Jones tied for 32nd at 11-over 227.

"We made some mistakes this weekend, but we never let it rattle us," Priest said. "We kept our composure and we have the makings of a pretty good team. Everyone was strong this weekend, especially Drew (McGee), who single-handedly kept us in the hunt Saturday. I'm proud of our team effort."

Baylor returns to Texas for the Lone Star Invitational, which will be held Oct. 17-18 at Briggs Ranch in San Antonio.