The 19 men’s golf teams at Ferris State’s Midwest/Central Regional Preview ran out of daylight to finish two rounds on Sept. 15. The Ashland Eagles would have liked to complete their day, given how the second round was going.  

The Eagles were tied for second place at 14-over par, and at 3-under in the nearly-completed second round, giving them the second-best score on the first day of the tournament.  Rockhurst was the team leader at 3-over, and Ashland and Gannon were tied for second at 14-over. 

Sophomore Mark Pillar was in contention for individual medalist and was in third at 1-under par with seven birdies through 16 holes in the second round. 

Moving on to the second day of the tournament, Mark Pillar earned individual medalist honors after defeating Gannon’s Rasmus Seppanen on the second playoff hole. Pillar ended regulation at 74-67-71—212 to force the playoff and had an eagle and 11 birdies for the tournament. 

“The biggest reason I was able to get the job done was my performance off the tee, that course isn’t easy, especially off the tee box, but I consistently put myself in good positions and I also putted really well”, Pillar said. “I led the field in birdies made, and you can’t do that without sinking some solid putts. Heading into the playoffs, I felt confident and a big part of that was the support from my team.” 

His effort helped Ashland as a team to finish in third place in the 19-team field at 301-282-298—881. This second-round score is the fifth-lowest for the program since 1996-97. 

Next up for the Eagles is Miami of Ohio’s Virtues Intercollegiate on Sept. 29-30.