Flash Points:

• Brandon Mihalo (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/Holy Names Catholic) finished in a tie for eighth
• Four Red Flash golfers finished in the top 50
• SFU ledthe tourney in par 5 play, playing them at eight under par

CINCINNATI, OHIO- Saint Francis men's golf shot their best team score of the NKU tourney on Monday, shooting a 295 to move up to an eighth place finish. 

Saint Francis was led on Monday by Dominic Stevens who shot an even par 71 to move up the leaderboard into a tie for 18th overall. Stevens started on the ninth hole and played the back nine beautifully, making the turn at even after one birdie and one bogey. He got things going on his final nine holes of the day, carding biridies on the third and seventh holes to get to two under on his round. However a double bogey on the eighth hole gave him the even-par 71. 

Brandon Mihalo (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/Holy Names Catholic) was the top finisher for the Red Flash, finishing in a tie for eighth place at plus four for the tournament. He shot a one-over 72 on Monday to secure the top-10 finish. Mihalo started on the eighth hole and after trading a birdie and a bogey on his first two holes, he played the back nine at one under with eight pars and a birdie on the 15th. Bogeys on the second and fourth holes on Monday gave him his final round 72.

Ben Morgret (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) finished in a tie for 45th after a 75 on Monday. Morgret started on the back nine on Monday and made the turn at three-over par. After trading a bogey and a birdie on the 11th and 12th holes, Morgret bogeyed the final three holes of his front nine. He settled in nicely over his final nine holes of the day, playing the front at one over par. Morgret carded bogeys on the second and the fourth but stayed out of big trouble and closed with a birdie on his final hole of the day. Just behind Morgret was Austin Renz (Danville, Pa./Danville) who finished in a tie for 49th after a 77 on Monday. Renz carded a birdie on the 13th hole but a double bogey on 14 and bogeys on 15 and 18 had him at four over as he made the turn. Renz answered a bogey on the second hole with a birdie on the fourth and finished the front nine at two-over par and 15 over for the tourney.  The final golfer for the Flash was Kurtis Straw (Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort) who shot an 84 on Monday. The graduate student couldn't avoid big trouble in Monday's final round, carding two double bogeys and two triple bogeys. 

As a team, Saint Francis made the most of the par-5s, playing them collectively at eight under par for the tourney, tied for best amongst the 17 teams. They also finished second with 38 birdies as a team. Stevens led the team in par-5 play at four-under par and tied for the most birdies in the tournament with 11. With Monday's 295, the Flash moved up two spots to finish eighth overall, just two shots behind Green Bay. They will have a little time off before wrapping up their fall schedule at the OBX Invite hosted by Old Dominion. The opening round of that tournament starts October 23rd.  





ROUNDS 1 and 2 RECAP
Saint Francis men's golf broke 300 as a team in both rounds on Sunday and sits in a tie for 10th at the Northern Kentucky Fall Invite.

Saint Francis showed off their length, leading the tourney in par-5s, playing them six under as a team. SFU also leads the tournament with 28 team birdies.

The teams played 36 holes on Sunday, with the final 18 coming on Monday. Brandon Mihalo (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/Holy Names Catholic) leads the team at +3 overall, and sits in a tie for 10th. He battled back nicely from a bogey on 14 and a double bogey on 15th (his fourth and fifth holes of the day) by playing the remaining holes and two under par to shoot even on his opening round. In his second round of the day, Mihalo again bounced back from a double bogey, this time on his first hole, the eleventh. Mihalo played the front nine at two under par in the second round to finish at plus three on his second 18 of the day and three over for the tourney.

Dominic Stevens had an eventful first round on Sunday. On the holes 10-18, Stevens carded two double bogeys, two bogeys and two birdies to make the turn at plus four. He rebounded nicely with two birdies and three bogeys on holes 1-9 to finish with a 75. Stevens backed that up with a 73 later in the day. Stevens played holes 1-9 at one under in his second round and totaled four birdies on the round to sit plus 7 for the tourney and in 28th place.

Austin Renz (Danville, Pa./Danville) and Ben Morgret (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) each are tied for 48th at plus-nine for the tournament. Renz shot 76-75 in his two rounds on Sunday. Renz played the front nine beautifully, shooting a three-under 33, but was undone on the back nine with two doubles and a triple bogey to shoot 43. It was a much less eventful second round for Renz, shooting 75. He carded three birdies against five bogeys and a double bogey.

Morgret had a much more even keeled round on Sunday. He was undone in his first round on a stretch of holes on the back nine where he bogeyed four out of five holes. He came back nicely with a birdie on the first hole and finished the round with two birdies against seven bogeys. In the second round of the day, Morgret bogeyed his first three holes, but again, bounced back. He birdied the fifth and the sixth and played the front nine even. In round two, Morgret had two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.

Also scoring for SFU was Kurtis Straw (Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort) who is in 84th place after rounds of 81 and 78. The grad student was affected by a pair of double bogeys in the first round and a triple bogey in the second.

As a team, the Flash posted rounds of 299 and 297 to sit in 10th place at +28. They are tied with Youngstown State and three shots behind Green Bay for ninth overall. The teams are set for another shotgun start on Monday morning for the final 18 holes.