LEXINGTON, Ky. – The McKendree University men's golf team shot a final round team score of 1-under par 287 to climb five spots up to leaderboard to finish in sixth place out 19 teams at the Saginaw Valley State University Spring Invitational held at the Kearney Hill Golf Links.
 
The Bearcats, who are fourth in the most recent NCAA Division II Midwest Regional rankings and earned a vote in the most recent Golfweek/Bushnell Division II Coaches Poll, finished the two-day, 36-hole event with a team score of 605 as they opened the tournament on Saturday by shooting a 318, before carding their 287 in the final round. The 287 was the second lowest round of the tournament as Wayne State shot a 2-under 286 as a team in Sunday's final round. In addition, the 287 is the fifth lowest round of the 2021-22 season by the Bearcats.
 
Southern Indiana took home the team title as the Screaming Eagles shot a 12-over par 588 as a team to win the title by one shot over Findlay, who shot a 589 for 36 holes. USI carded rounds of 298 and 290, while Findlay, who was the first-round leader, shot rounds of 295 and 294.
 
Leading the way for the Bearcats was junior Rasmus Nilsson (Stockholm, Sweden/Danderyds Gymnasium), who shot an even-par 144 for 36 holes to finish in a tie for third place. Nilsson, who was named this past week's Great Lakes Valley Conference Men's Golfer of the Week, played the SVSU Invitational as an individual and did not factor into the Bearcats' team score. Nilsson opened the tournament with a 74 before carding his final round score of 70.
 
Wayne State's Sean Niles took home medalist honors as he carded rounds of 74 and 68 to finish the tournament with a 2-under par score of 142 to win by one shot over Trevecca Nazarene's Blain Turner, who fired a 1-under par 143 for 36 holes as he shot rounds of 74 and 69.
 
Five golfers finished the tournament shooting par or better on the 7,023-yard Kearney Hill Golf Links course.
 
The top performer for the Bearcats' team was freshman Thomas Tollefsen (Tongsberg, Norway/Wang Toppidrett Tonsberg), who shot a 2-over par 146 for 36 holes to finish in a tie for ninth place. Tollefson opened the tournament with a 77, before carding a 3-under 69 in the final round. The 69 is tied for the eighth lowest single round by a Bearcat golfer this season.
 
McKendree's No. 2 golfer was graduate student Will Postlethwaite (Carlisle, United Kingdom/William Howard School), who shot a 151 for 36 holes to finish in a tie for 27th place. Postlethwaite opened the tournament with an 80, before carding a final round score of 1-under par 71.
 
Senior Alex Gorman (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) was the No. 3 counter for the Bearcats overall as he carded a 155 for 36 holes to finish in a tie for 48th place. Gorman shot an opening round 80, before firing a final round score of 3-over par 75.
 
Freshman Fabian Wennerlof (Onsala, Sweden/Katrinelundgymnasiet) was the fourth Bearcat counter as he finished with a 36-hole total of 156 to post a finish for 52nd place overall. Wennerlof fired rounds of 81 and 75 respectively at the event.
 
The final golfer for the Bearcats at the tournament was junior Phasin Vichitcharoenpaisarn (Bangkok, Thailand/The American School of Bangkok) as he posted a score of 156 for 36 holes to finish in a tie for 52nd place. Vichitcharoenpaisarn opened the event with an 84, before shooting a final round score of even-par 72.
 
McKendree will return to the course on April 4-5 as they travel to Panther Creek Golf Club in Springfield, Ill., to compete in the Dan Salisbury Memorial Collegiate hosted by the University of Illinois-Springfield.