The men’s golf team finished its fall season with a seventh-place tie Monday at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C.
The Gophers final round dropped them from a sixth-place finish to a seventh-place tie with Augusta State. That marked the first time the team has finished out of the top five in four previous tournaments this fall.
Freshman Martin Le Mesurier, of Southampton, England, continued to finish strong for the Gophers. He led the team with a fifth-place tie. Le Mesurier was at an even-par heading into the final round. There, however, he shot five-over-par, dropping him from medalist contention.
Despite problems in the final round, the fifth-place tie is Le Mesurier’s highest finish this fall.
Junior All-American Rob Kerr climbed from a 30th-place tie after the first round to finish tied for 13th. Also finishing for the Gophers was sophomore Bill Thompson (tied for 41st place), senior Mark Halverson (tied for 53rd place) and freshman Russ Higgins (tied for 67th place).
Virginia Commonwealth won the tournament eight strokes ahead of North Carolina State. Northwestern, the only other Big Ten team in the field, finished third.
Virginia Commonwealth’s John Rollins took top honors finishing three-under. Following him was Northwestern’s Scott Rowe at even par and Charleston’s Steve Goodley, who finished third at three-over.
The Gophers will resume competition in mid-February at the Tulsa Invitational in Tulsa, Okla.
— Susan Filkins