By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State Men’s Golf finished 19th at The Mule, hosted by the University of Central Missouri at Mules National Golf Club. Tanner Copeland was the top FHSU player at 16-over par overall, finishing with a strong 1-over par round of 71 in the final round.
Copeland birdied five of his last six holes to card a 71 on Tuesday after being six-over par through 11 holes. The 71 was the best round for any of the Tigers in the tournament. Copeland shot rounds of 78 and 77 on the first day of competition and he posted a 226 total for the three rounds to finish.
Parker Krob was two strokes back of Copeland overall after rounds of 76, 77, and 75. Bryce Cowan was two strokes back of Krob with rounds of 79, 74, and 77, while Jackson Rader was two strokes back of Cowan with rounds of 79, 79, and 74. Rader had five birdies in his final round like Copeland. Dustin Nichols shot rounds of 77, 78, and 84, figuring into the team scoring for each of the first two rounds.
Fort Hays State shot team scores of 310, 306, and then a nine-stroke improvement of 297 on the final day. The Tigers finished ahead of Lincoln and Newman among the 10 MIAA schools competing in the field.
Rogers State, ranked No. 13 nationally, won the tournament as a team at 8-under par overall. The Hillcats had a total of 832 for the tournament, nine strokes better than second-place finisher Harding. Sam Tandy of Harding was the individual champion at 6-under par overall, shooting in the 60s each round at the par-70 course.
The Tigers turn their focus to the MIAA Championships, scheduled for April 18-20 in Independence, Mo. The tournament will be held at Winterstone Golf Course.