Sunden Wins Firestone Invitational, Akron Places Fourth

Tuesday, October 1

FIRESTONE COUNTRY CLUB | AKRON, OH

18 Holes

University of Akron

Firestone Invitational

Sunden Wins Firestone Invitational, Akron Places Fourth

October 01 | Men's Golf

The 2019 Firestone Invitational | September 30 - October 1, 2019
Firestone Country Club – North Course | Par 72, 7,125 Yards

Firestone Country Club | Firestone Invitational Information (PDF)

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

Fabian Sunden Post Tournament Interview | Coach Trainor Post Tournament Interview

AKRON, Ohio – Junior Fabian Sunden (Sweden) became the first Akron golfer to win the Firestone Invitational Individual Championship as he fired an 8-under par 208 tournament total en route to leading the Zips to a fourth-place finish, 860 (-4).

Sunden followed a career-best 6-under par second round with a 70 (-2) final round effort to capture individual medalist honors. Sunden played a steady final front-9 as he tallied back-to-back pars to open the day. He collected his first of two birdies on hole No. 3 and followed with four-straight par scores, but at the turn he owned a 1-over score after two bogeys.

On the back, Sunden posted another bogey-free performance as he started his scoring by recording a hole-in-one on the par-3, 201-yard hole No. 11. He added seven par scores and a birdie on hole No. 16 which eventually secured the win.

For the tournament, Sunden posted a career-high 13 birdies in 54-holes. He added 34 pars and his first-career hole-in-one in tournament play. In addition, Sunden played 18-holes, three 9's, of bogey-free golf with a combined 10 birdies and an ace.

Following Sunden in scoring for Akron were senior Mitchell McFarland (Wheelersburg, Ohio) and sophomore Beau Bayerl (Ashland, Ohio) with 1-under par 215 totals. Both, McFarland and Bayerl finished 10^th overall. McFarland carded rounds of 73 (+1), 67 (-5) and 75 (+3) while Bayerl registered 73 (+1), 70 (-2) and 72 (E) scores. McFarland posted a career-best 5-under effort with seven birdies and collected 12 for the tournament. Bayerl notched 10 birdies in three rounds.

Rounding out the Zips' scoring were freshman Braden Smith (Sterling, Ohio) and sophomore Ignacio Puente (Seville, Spain). Smith made his collegiate debut at the Firestone Invitational with a 73 (+1) and followed with 74 (+2) and 76 (+4) scores for a 223 (+7) total. He finished tied for 41^st overall. Puente tallied 72 (E), 76 (+4) and 77 (+5) scores for a 225 (+9) ledger and tied for 49^th overall.

The Zips also had three players competing as individuals in sophomore Kaleb Smith (Mansfield, Ohio), freshman Cade Kreps (Boardman, Ohio) and freshman Quinn Patterson (Columbus, Ohio). Smith finished tied at 34^th with 76 (+4), 72 (E), 74 (+2) – 222 (+6) while Kreps and Patterson made their collegiate debuts. Patterson (80-76-78 – 234) and Kreps (78-76- 83 – 237) placed 71^st and 77^th, respectively.

South Carolina Aiken recorded a pair of birdies on the final hole to secure the team championship by one stroke, 857 (-7), and avoid a three-way playoff with Santa Clara and Bowling Green. Santa Clara and Bowling Green were runner-up finishers, 858 (-6).

In addition, Leo Johansson (South Carolina Aiken) was runner-up with a 73-67-69 - 209 (-7) tally and Dawson Anders also recorded a hole-in-one on hole No. 17 in the second round.

4 Akron, U. of (-4) 290-277-293 - 860
1 Fabian Sundén (-8) 72-66-70 - 208
T10 Beau Bayerl (-1) 73-70-72 - 215
T10 Mitchell McFarland (-1) 73-67-75 - 215
T41 Braden Smith (+7) 73-74-76 - 223
T49 Ignacio Puente (+9) 72-76-77 – 225

Top 5 Players
1 Fabian Sundén Akron, U. of 72-66-70 - 208 (-8)
2 Leo Johansson S. Carolina - Aiken 73-67-69 - 209 (-7)
3 Gustav Fransson Old Dominion 66-72-73 - 211 (-5)
T4 Nick Hofland Bowling Green State 70-74-68 - 212 (-4)
T4 Jason Liu Dartmouth 72-72-68 - 212 (-4)

Top 5 Teams
1 S. Carolina - Aiken 285-281-291 - 857 (-7)
T2 Santa Clara 288-287-283 - 858 (-6)
T2 Bowling Green State 287-293-278 - 858 (-6)
4 Akron, U. of 290-277-293- 860 (-4)
5 Drexel 299-280-288 - 867 (+3)