Akron Zips Claim the 2018 Firestone Invitational Team Championship

Tuesday, October 2

Firestone Country Club | Akron, OH

18 Holes

University of Akron

Firestone Invitational

Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi

Akron Zips Claim the 2018 Firestone Invitational Team Championship

October 02 | Men's Golf

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GolfStat: Live Scoring | Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Parings: Rd 1 & Rd 2 | Rd 3 |

Results: Final Results PDF | Rd 1 PDF | Rd 2 PDF | Photo Gallery

AKRON, Ohio – On the final day of the 2018 Firestone Invitational, the Akron men's golf team overcame a seven-stroke deficit to be crowned team champions with an 857 (-7) tournament total on Tuesday.

The Firestone Invitational win marked the first time Akron won its own tournament, and it happened in dramatic fashion.

The Zips entered the final round at 5-under par with a 571 two-round total and trailed the 17-team field leaders, the Ohio Bobcats, by seven strokes with a 564 (-12) score.

As a team, the Zips used 11 birdies in the first nine holes to climb the leaderboard and take a brief lead with a 12-under par score. However, Ohio also continued to lower its score and regained the lead at 14-under with around nine holes left to play for Akron.

Akron ran into a rough patch on holes 11-14, recording nine bogeys and falling as low as 3-under par. The Zips pulled it together and bolstered their final score with eight birdies that resulted in four stokes on their final scorecard to finish 2-under par for the round, 286-285-286 – 857 (-7). The bulk of the birdies came on the final hole as 4-of-5 Akron golfers posted a 1-under score on the eighteenth green.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats held steady through that stretch and carried a 12-under par score into holes 15-18. But, Ohio could not hold the advantage through the final four holes of the par-72, 7,125-yard North Course as it came down to the final golfer and a 15-foot putt attempt to force a playoff with Akron.

Furman earned the tournament runner-up team award with an 858 (-6) score, while Ohio fell to a tie with Eastern Michigan as both teams finished the 54-hole event at 5-under par with 859 team totals.

The Bobcats Zach Crawford won individual medalist honors with a 10-under par 206 tournament performance on rounds of 69 (-3), 69 (-3) and 68 (-4), while Eastern Michigan's Ty Celone earned runner-up with a 70-69-70 – 209 (-7) effort.

The final day of competition was a collective effort for the Zips as senior Elliott Grayson (Shelby, N.C.) and sophomore Fabian Sunden (Sweden) posted 1-under 71 scores and junior Mitchell McFarland (Wheelersburg, Ohio) and freshman Ignacio Puente (Seville, Spain) finished even-par. Redshirt freshmen Beau Bayerl (Ashland, Ohio) rounded out the team effort with a 75 (+3) ledger.

Grayson finished his final Firestone Invitational with a team-best 211 (-5) tally on rounds of 72 (E), 68 (-4) and 71 (-1). During the second round, he jumped 21 spots on the player leaderboard, resulting in a seven-way tie for fifth place and moved up one more slot to finish tied at fourth overall with Furman's Keller Harper.

Grayson carded 10 pars and five birdies in the final round, including two birdies in the final four holes to push Akron back into contention. He made a crucial six-foot putt on hole No. 18 which place Akron at 7-under par. Grayson completed the event with 33 pars, 12 birdies and an eagle mixed with seven bogeys and a double bogey.

Also recording a birdie on hole No. 18 and finishing second in team scoring was Bayerl. He used 71 (-1), 70 (-2) and 75 (+3) scores to finish even-par with a 216 and tied for 17^th overall. During the two-day event, Bayerl carded 31 pars and 12 birdies.

McFarland was third in overall scoring, posting a 217 (+1) total. He recorded 13 birdies over three rounds, including one on the final hole of the tournament. McFarland finished tied for 22^nd overall while registering rounds of 70 (-2), 75 (+3) and 72 (E). In addition, he led the Zips first-round scoring with the 2-under effort.

Sunden and Puente rounded out Akron's championship performance with a pair of 219 (+3) scores and tied for 34^th overall. Sunden used 75 (+3), 73 (+1) and 71 (-1) scores, while Puente carded 73 (+1), 74 (+2) and 72 (E). Sunden contributed 15 pars and two birdies in final round action, totaling nine birdies for the tournament.

Puente finished his first Firestone Invitational strong by posting birdie scores on three of the last four holes, including No. 18. He tallied six birdies in each of the final two rounds to help push the Zips to victory.

Playing as individuals for Akron were redshirt freshman Kaleb Smith (Mansfield, Ohio) and junior Jacob Morgan (Lafayette, Ga.). Smith tied for 48^th overall with a 71-77-75 – 223 (+7) performance in his first home event, while Morgan recorded a 79-78-73 -230 (+14) total.

Akron will be back in action on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 8-9, at the Pete Dye Golf Course in Bridgeport, W.Va. as part of the Mountaineer Intercollegiate.

1 Akron, U. of (-7) 286-285-286 - 857
T4 Elliott Grayson (-5) 72-68-71 - 211
T17 Beau Bayerl (E) 71-70-75 - 216
T22 Mitchell McFarland (+1) 70-75-72 - 217
T34 Fabian Sundén (+3) 75-73-71 - 219
T34 Ignacio Puente (+3) 73-74-72 - 219

Top 5 Teams
1 Akron, U. of 286-285-286 - 857 (-7)
2 Furman 286-285-287 - 858 (-6)
T3 Eastern Michigan 286-287-286 - 859 (-5)
T3 Ohio 281-283-295 - 859 (-5)
5 William & Mary 292-282-289 - 863 (-1)

Top 5 Players
1 Zach Crawford - Ohio - 69-69-68 - 206 (-10)
2 Ty Celone - Eastern Michigan - 70-69-70 - 209 (-7)
3 Sam Ohno - Dartmouth – 64-79-67 - 210 (-6)
T4 Elliott Grayson - Akron, U. of – 72-68-71 - 211 (-5)
T4 Keller Harper - Furman – 70-68-73 - 211 (-5)