By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Fort Hays State Men’s Golf participated in its first MIAA designated event of the 2022-23 season at the NSU Golf Classic, held at Muskogee Golf Club (Sept. 19-20). The course was a par-71 layout and played at 6,726 yards. The Tigers were seventh among MIAA teams competing in the tournament, while Tanner Copeland tied for 10th among MIAA golfers.
The tournament hosted schools from the MIAA, GAC, and NSIC to help with regional head-to-head competition. FHSU finished 13th overall among 18 teams competing in the tournament. The golfers battled brutal elements with temperatures clipping 100 degrees each day. The first day of competition was 36 holes.
Henderson State, members of the GAC, won the team title by 19 strokes with an 837 total, an astounding 15-under par as a team over three rounds. Washburn was second and topped the MIAA field with a total of 856, just four-over par. Missouri Southern and Northeastern State finished behind Washburn to round out the top three MIAA teams.
Fort Hays State shot 29-over par as a team. They shot a strong 4-over par as a team in the opening round with a 288. They followed with 300 and then 293 in the final round on Tuesday. The 288 was the lowest total in a round for the Tigers since the 2018-19 season when they shot 286 at the Bethel Spring Invitational in Hesston, Kansas at the Hesston Golf Course.
By finishing in a tie for 10th among MIAA competitors (+4, 217), Tanner Copeland generated MIAA ranking points for the conference designated events this season. The Top 15 in MIAA events receive points toward those rankings. Copeland had nine birdies over his three rounds. He shot an opening-round 1-under par 70 with three birdies, two bogeys, and 13 pars. He posted a five-over 76 in the second round, then came back on Tuesday to fire a final-round even par 71 with four birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey. Copeland was 1-under par on the back nine of the course over the three rounds, and he shot at least even in five of his six nine-hole segments of the tournament. Copeland tied for 27th overall in the 98-player field.
Jackson Rader was second among FHSU golfers, finishing at 8-over par (221). He matched Copeland’s 1-under par 70 in the first round before carding 77 and 74. He had five birdies in the tournament and never recorded anything higher than a bogey. Bryce Cowan was one stroke behind Rader at 9-over par (222). Cowan shot rounds of 73, 74, and 75, while carding seven birdies for the tournament. Parker Krob shot 13-over par. After a first-round 80, Krob bounced back for a pair of 2-over par rounds of 73. He had five birdies in the tournament. Dustin Nichols also competed for the Tigers and shot 75 in the first round, but unfortunately had to withdraw from the second round due to heat related concerns.
The Tigers will be back in action next week at the MSSU Fall Invitational, held September 26-27 at Shangri-La Golf Club in Monkey Island, Okla.