The Miami University golf team shot a final round 10-over par Sunday, finishing 11 overall in the Hawkeye Invitational at 31-over par. The host Iowa University Hawkeyes placed first, finishing 24-under par.
Junior Ben Peacock was the highest placing RedHawk, finishing three-over par and tied for 21-place individually. Sophomore Mark MacDonald had the best individual day of any Miami golfer all weekend, shooting a one-under par final round to end the tournament tied for 46 with a 12-over par overall score.
Freshman Luke Shaughnessy and Junior Brett Tomfohrde finished tied for 39, each shooting a 10-over par. Freshman Scott Cahill shot a 14-over par to tie for 51-place.
Head Coach Zac Zedrick said he was surprised and a little discouraged at the results, especially after the RedHawks finished fourth in last week's Rutherford tournament.
"It was disappointing to say the least," Zedrick said. "It was definitely a surprise because we've been making progress all spring. The boys are disappointed too."
Though this weekend was not as successful as the team had hoped, Miami's first-year head coach maintains an upbeat approach as Miami enters the last leg of the season.
"It's a lot of little stuff," Zedrick said. "We didn't play as well as we could have for sure. Things will work out. We've just got to keep maintaining a positive attitude."
In the face of the upcoming Boilermaker Invitational, Zedrick will stress playing without fear. The short game will be a primary focus in practice again this week, but keeping a healthy mentality and trusting in the team's strengths is something the RedHawks will really take to heart.
"We're going to ... dedicate a little extra time to our short game," Zedrick said. "Really at the tournament, it's about more of a fearless attitude. We need to play smart and play to our strengths. It doesn't mean playing reckless, but we need to pick a shot and fully commit to it; to stay in the moment and be fearless."
Playing a fearless game is already resonating with the team. Peacock and Tomfohrde are refocusing their game and putting in quality work at practice to help put this weekend behind them.
"It was obviously a little difficult to not finish the way you hoped for," Peacock said. "We've got to do a better job of being fearless ... just trusting our ability and not holding back. You can let some thoughts sneak into your mind about what could go wrong and that's not the way to play."
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Tomfohrde spoke in a similar manner to his teammate and coach, citing cautious play as the biggest downfall to the RedHawks at the Hawkeye Invitational.
"The weekend didn't really go as planned, and I just think we all played a little tentative," Tomfohrde said. "We didn't play as fearless as we should have."
When asked about what it means to play fearless, Tomfohrde described it as, "kind of getting out of your own way and letting yourself play."
The junior also looks to regain his composure heading into the upcoming tournament.
"I'm going to work on ball striking and getting my confidence back," Tomfohrde said. "I'm going to work on trusting my own abilities. Mentally I'm just going to have more fun."
Though the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships are a little less than three weeks away, Zedrick is making sure his team is focusing on this weekend first.
"You've got to just take care of what's in front of you," Zedrick said. "The MAC is something we'll talk about, but we've got to focus on today first. From there, we'll focus on playing hard at Purdue [University] and after that we'll focus on the MAC."
Miami will travel to West Lafayette, Ind. Friday, and are set to play 36 holes Saturday before finishing the Boilermaker Invitational with a closing 18 holes Sunday.
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