The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) men's golf team came away with a third-place finish in opening the 2018 spring season at the Rockhurst Golf Tournament March 26 and 27 at Wichita, Kan.
Rockhurst University, the tournament host, won the team championship with a 36-hole score of 617. DMACC posted identical rounds of 318 in finishing third with a score of 636. Chris Beaubien of Rockhurst University took medalist honors with a two-day total of 148.
DMACC was led by sophomore Alec Fuhs of Webster City, who tied for sixth with a 36-hole score of 155. Fuhs shot rounds of 78 and 77 over the par 72 layout.
The Bears got a 159 from sophomore Robert Flattery of Fort Dodge, a 162 from sophomore Parker Davidson of Pleasant Hill, a 163 from sophomore Avery Fuhs of Webster City and a 164 from freshman Louie Psihoyos of Dubuque. Flattery shot rounds of 77 and 82 and finished 13th; Davidson tied for 15th on rounds of 84 and 78 and Avery Fuhs tied for 17th behind rounds of 80 and 83. Psihoyos posted scores of 83 and 81 and tied for 19th.
DMACC freshman Kolby Chup of Des Moines, sophomore Grant Waline of Story City and freshmen Drew Fielder of Webster City played in the individual portion of the tournament with Chup finishing third on scores of 73 and 79 for a 36-hole total of 152. Waline shot rounds of 83 and 84 for a 167 total, finishing in 23rd place and Fielder was 26th with a 36-hole score of 184. He turned in scores of 96 and 88.
DMACC men's golf coach Chris Seaboch said Chup began attending DMACC last fall with aspirations of joining the men's golf team.
"We set some goals for him last fall and he was able to meet or exceed anything we asked of him so we brought him aboard at the start of the second semester," Seaboch said. "He actually shot the low tournament round of 73 on the first day so we're excited to see where he is going to fit in. We thing he could really bolster our lineup."
Seaboch said the five players who contributed to the team scoring in the Rockhurst tournament will probably lead the Bears during the spring season.
"We will use the spring to interchange (players) a little bit," Seaboch said. "With the sophomores, this is their fourth semester so we know what we are getting out of them. Even if they struggled a little bit (at the Rockhurst tournament), there is a core there that are going to be able to turn it around and really lead us."
Seaboch also said that as the season progresses and the regional and national tournaments get closer, the five players who are playing the best will be on the course when it counts.
"Anybody is welcome to work as hard as they want and work their way up the ladder," Seaboch said. "There are people starting out higher on that ladder than others."
The DMACC men's golf team will play in a triangular April 4 at Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny.