Senior Ricky Schmidt matched the best 18-hole score in program history and the Lake Forest College men's golf team tied Loras College for the best score at the 12-team Elmhurst Fall Invitational on Thursday.
Schmidt fired a 4-under par 68 to win the event by four strokes. He was a shot over par at the turn but completed the back nine in just 31 shots with birdies on 10, 14, and 15 and an eagle on the 553-yard, par-5 16th. Schmidt is just the third player in team history with a 68, joining Ken La Plant and Bill Barnes, who accomplished the feat in 1953 and 1970, respectively. His previous low round in collegiate competition was the 72 he shot on Saturday.
Fellow senior Jordan Mandel was next on the team and tied-for-10th overall with a career-best 75. He went out in 37 with birdies on 6 and 8 before carding a 38 on the back nine.
Freshman Caleb Dzierzynski and sophomore Max Rohwedder tied for 23rd in the 76-player field with matching rounds of 79. Dzierzynski recorded a birdie on the 313-yard, par-4 10th and Rohwedder was 1-under on the 551-yard, par-5 first and 179-yard, par-3 14th.
Senior Parker Hill was fifth on the squad and tied-for-34th overall with an 81.
Lake Forest's round of 301 is a season-best and ranks third in team history. Loras matched that score and won the 5th-man tiebreaker. Elmhurst was just a shot off the lead and four other programs were within 15 strokes out of first place.
The Foresters will conclude the fall portion of their 2018-19 schedule at this weekend's Millikin Fall Tournament. Saturday's play at the Country Club of Decatur will begin at noon and day two of the competition will be held at South Side Country Club in Decatur, Illinois and is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m.
