The Valparaiso University men’s golf team wrapped up the two-day Firestone Invitational at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio on Tuesday. The Crusaders closed out the tournament shooting a team score of 883 (+19) to finish in 14^th place. Junior Peter Webb (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) stood out on Tuesday, shooting one of the best rounds in program history to finish in a tie for second place.

“We had a rough start to the tournament, playing the first six holes poorly,” said Crusader head coach David Gring.  “The remaining 48 holes were pretty solid and our final nine holes were excellent, finishing the tournament 4-under during that stretch. This is the third consecutive tournament that we have played our best golf in the final round and to finish a tournament the way we did today is very positive. This will give us some good momentum heading into our next tournament.”

Webb led the charge once again for the Crusaders on Tuesday, shooting a third-round score of 66 (-6) – tied for the lowest single-round score over the tournament’s two days. Webb’s 66 was the third-best round in Crusader history, just one shot back of the program record of 65.

Webb’s third-round score moved him into a second-place tie individually with a 54-hole score of 208 (-8), just one shot back of the champion. His performance over the last two days puts Webb in second place in program history for a 54-hole tournament, both in total score of 208 and in relation to par at -8, both of which are just two shots off the program record.

“Pete had a tremendous tournament for us this weekend,” said Gring. “He drove the ball well off the tee and had a lot of shots in close proximity to the hole all three rounds. He led the tournament field in birdies with seventeen over the three rounds, and he had eight today and four in his final seven holes. His medalist runner-up finish is exemplary, considering the very strong field.”

Senior Jared Magoline (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac [Marquette]) tied for 37^th individually after shooting a round of 72 on Tuesday to close the tournament at 219 (+3). Finishing just one stroke behind Magoline was junior Nick Seitz (Xenia, Oh./Carroll), who finished in a tie for 42^nd with a total of 220 (+4).

Closing out the Crusaders’ team score was senior Matt Ward (Plainfield, Ill./South) and sophomore Michael Doherty (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North), who shot  240 and 245 to finish in 89^th and 91^st place, respectively. Freshman Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) shot a 226 (+10) playing as an individual to finish the tournament in 65^th place.

“We are continuing to find our team rhythm with the start of our season,” said Gring. “Our number one through three guys have played very steady this fall, and once we get some more consistent play out of our four and five players, we will have some better team results. The entire team is working hard in practice and we are improving each week.”

Maryland earned the team title on Tuesday, posting a score of 856 (-8).

Valparaiso will travel to Wisconsin next Monday for the two-day Whistling Straits Intercollegiate, with live scoring available via ValpoAthletics.com.