Richmond, IN - Sophomore
Kyle Honer, the reigning River States Conference Newcomer of the Year, picked up in the 2023 season right where he left off in his freshman campaign. Although this time, his focus and experience turned into the best two rounds in OCU men's golf history, as he posted an opening round 62 (-10) in the Red Wolf Invitational, hosted by Indiana University East in Richmond, Indiana. He followed that up with a 64 (-8) to set a new tournament record, earning medalist honors by a head-turning 13 strokes.
His 62 included a steady 10 birdies and eight pars, followed by an eagle, seven birdies, nine pars, and a lone bogey in round two. His first nine holes of the tournament included six birdies, as he made the turn in 30, setting the tone for how the rest of the tournament would go.
"He was absolutely dialed in," stated second year head coach
Tyler Toopes, a former member of the Mighty Oaks golf team. "It's a big statement. He as calm and locked in the whole time. It was fun to watch."
Joining Honer in scoring for the Oaks in round one were classmates
Jack Dolan, who finished with a strong round of 70, and
Trevin Hutchinson, who finished with a 75, as well as junior
Eli Gooch in his first season in OCU blue, firing a 79. Day two saw Honer joined by Gooch's 71, Hutchinson's 72, and Dolan's 74. The team total of 567, including a 286 (-2) in round one and 281 (-7) in round two, game them an eight-stroke victory over the host IU East, who posted a 575 two day total.
West Virginia University Tech finished third with a 581, followed by IU Kokomo B (585), Brescia University (590), IU Kokomo A (592), Saint Mary-of-the-Woods White (595), IU East B (597), Concordia Ann Arbor (608), SMWC B (611), Oakland City University B (665), and Miami University Middletown who didn't have a team score, rounding out the 12-team field.
Individually, Honer's 126 total led the 63-individual field, with IU East's Sam Firebaugh coming in second with a 139 (69/70). WVUT's Lukas Lange finished in third (140, 71/69), followed by Aaron Munger from Brescia University (141, 70/71), and Chase Nuckols from SMWC (142, 71/71) to round out the top five.
Jack Dolan finished tied for 9th place with a two day total of 144, even par after rounds of 70 (-2) and 74 (+2), followed by
Trevin Hutchinson who tied for 14th place with rounds of 75 (+3) and 72 (even).
Eli Gooch tied for 27th at 150, going 79 (+7) in round one followed by 71 (-1) in round two, while Cole Herganrather was 43rd overall with rounds of 80 (+10) and 75 (+3) for a two-day total of 155.
Playing on the second team were junior
Austin Kramer, who finished 34th overall at 154, after rounds of 76 (+4) and 78 (+6). Junior
Addison Horner came in 50th at 158 with a pair of 79s (+7), while senior Jonny Miller finished 53rd at 161, going 83 (+11) 78 (+7). Freshman
Noah Newton finished 63rd with a two-day total of 192, opening with a 100 (+28), followed by a 92 (+20).
Following Honer's victory, he was named the NCCAA National Player of the Week for men's golf.
The Mighty Oaks will return to action on September 18-19 when they play in the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament, held at Houston Oaks Golf Course in Paris, Kentucky.
