Ligonier, Pa. – Junior Cameron Willis sank the 25-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the single-player sudden-death playoff, giving No. 4 Wittenberg the win over No. 1 Emory University at the first annual Tartan Invitational hosted by Carnegie Mellon University from Laurel Valley Golf Club. Wittenberg would combine to shoot 288, 291 and 294 for a 54-hole total of 873. While on the home course of the late great Arnold Palmer, the Tigers faced off against seven Top 25 teams, including No. 1 Emory, No. 2 Methodist, No. 11 Carnegie Mellon, No. 15 Greensboro, No. 18 Oglethorpe and No. 22 Berry, as the field also welcomed some familiar North Coast Atlantic Conference foes as well including Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan. As a team, the Tigers would hold a narrow four-stroke lead over Emory after the first round. Emory would come back to make up ten strokes through the second round, taking a six-stroke lead heading into the final round. A final round of 294 by Wittenberg and an even 300 by Emory would send the top two teams into the playoff.
Willis would lead the way for the Tigers with a second-place finish, shooting 215 over three rounds. The Eaton, Ohio native logged rounds of 70, 73 and 72.
Willis would not stand alone atop the leaderboard, as the Tigers would place three finishers in the top 10. Senior Colin Laszlo came in on the heels of Willis, posting a 54-hole score of 216 for a third-place finish. Laszlo opened up his round at Laurel Valley with a 70, following up with rounds of 72 and 74. Cooper Taylor was the third Tiger in the top 10, earning a seventh-place finish with a 54-hole total of 220. The Colorado native found his stroke in the second round, following an opening round 76, Taylor would go on to post a 71 in round two and a 73 on the final day of competition. Ryan Mallette finished in the top 15 with a tie for 14th place, shooting 224 over 54-holes. Mallette would post his best score in the opening round of competition logging a 72 in round one, following up with rounds of 77 and 75. Christopher Dunne rounded out the Tiger finishers, posting a 54-hole score of 228 finishing in a tie for 28th place.
UP NEXT
Wittenberg will return to action on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 15-16 when they head just down the road for the Cedarville Invitational.
