Noblesville, IN - The McKendree University Men's Golf team was back in action after just shy of a week away from tournament play on Sunday and Monday, when they were at Purgatory Golf Club for the two-day Ken Partridge Invitational. The 18-team field featured a large number of GLVC institutions, including the Bearcats, Rockhurst, UIndy, Missouri S&T, Drury, UMSL, Maryville, and UIS. McKendree was behind the eight ball after round one, but improved their total round-by-round, ending with a tournament-best +3 to finish ninth of 18, with Trystan Du Plessis leading the way with the team's lone Top 25 finish at ninth place. 

In the first round, Pe Nontarux played off the momentum of his quality spring of late, ending at a -1/71. Nontarux was E/36 on the front nine, including birdies on the par-four 2nd and par-five 9th, the latter of which was a popular hole amongst the Bearcats in the opener. Nontarux birdied three more times on the back nine, including consecutive birdies on 17 and 18 to end the round in red numbers. Thierry Boucher (1), Hata Iemkanitchat (2), Du Plessis (3), and Tristan Traustason (1) combined for a 12-birdie round from the Bearcats. Three of those all came on the aforementioned 544-yard par-five 9th (Nontarux, Boucher, Du Plessis). 

As present as red numbers were in the first round, McKendree saw a stark rise in their birdie count for round two. Du Plessis joined the red numbers club with a -1/71, including a stellar five birdies on the back nine, with three coming consecutively between the 13th and 15th holes. The Bearcats sliced through the back nine with 12 birdies. Ethan Lang, who had gone +2/38 on the front, birdied three times on the back for a +2/38 and a +4/76 for the round. Boucher played to a +1 on both nines for a +2/74. Traustason birdied four times and was three parts of that red-filled back nine, as four Bearcats kept their back nine scores under 40. Iemkanitchat also birdied, doing so on the par-five 13th. 

McKendree would see their best round come in the third. While a fair amount of bogeys found their way to the scorecards on the front nine, there were still plenty of positive results. Nontarux birdied three times, Traustason birdied twice, Boucher birdied once, and Du Plessis had a birdie on the par-four 3rd, plus having rounded out his nine with an eagle on the par-five 9th. The Bearcats saved their best for last. On the back nine of the possible 54 holes, only 10 were bogey or worse. The 13th hole is Purgatory Golf Club's longest at 558 yards, but McKendree made quick work of it, with all six Bearcats getting either a par or a birdie. Du Plessis had the best round of his tournament, going -3/33 on the back nine and -3/69 for the full round to secure his Top 10 finish. Nontarux also broke par, with a five-birdie round for a -1/71. 

BEARCAT INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Trystan Du Plessis | T-9th | + 4
Thierry Boucher | T-38th | + 10
Pe Nontarux | T-46th | + 11
Ethan Lang | T-90th | + 19
Tristan Traustason | T-90th | + 19
Hata Iemkanitchat | T-103rd | + 24

FULL TEAM SCORING
1st  | #3 Grand Valley State | - 1
T-2nd | Ferris State | + 18
T-2nd | Rockhurst | + 18
T-4th | Tiffin | + 25
T-4th | UIndy | + 25
6th | #43 Missouri S&T | + 27
7th | Davenport | + 29
8th | Drury | + 31
9th | McKendree | + 32
10th | #41 UMSL | + 34
T-11th | Ashland | + 36
T-11th | Northwood | + 36
13th | Hillsdale | + 39
14th | Parkside | + 44
15th | Maryville | + 48
16th | Purdue Northwest | + 58
17th | UIS | + 59
18th | Roosevelt | + 63