By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – With a little help from the hometown favorite, the Ball State University men’s golf team ended a long championship drought.
The Cardinals claimed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship, completing the third round of play last Sunday at The Club at Chatham Hills. Ball State finished the event with a three-day total of 283-280-291=854, five strokes ahead of the runner-up, Miami University of Ohio.
It was the first time in 38 years that the Cardinals were MAC champions. Their last title came in 1986.
“It feels great,” said BSU coach Mike Fleck. “We’ve had historically some great programs over the years, even in those last 30 years.”
The Cardinals played consistently throughout the event, with four players finishing in the top 11. That includes the man who finished eighth, freshman Alec Cesare. The Westfield graduate had a large group of fans following him during the event, and he delivered with a two under par 70 on the final day of the tournament.
Cesare made two huge birdies on the third and fourth holes during Sunday play. He chipped in from the bunker to make a birdie on No. 3, then placed his second shot just inches from the No. 4 hole for an easy tap-in birdie.
“Massive, massive chip-in on 3, and then unreal shot on 4 to a couple inches, tap in and then that gave me a lot of momentum going forward,” said Cesare.
Cesare finished with four birdies for his round, also making them on Nos. 7 and 13. He also made a clutch putt on the 18th hole to preserve a par.
“I played phenomenal,” said Cesare. “It was a grind. It was super hard out there with the wind and the conditions. I battled all day. That putt on 18 was a must-make, just knowing where we were.”
“Alec’s a competitor and he loves the competition,” said Fleck. “He loves the challenge. I think one of the unique things about Alec is, when he does gets out of his comfort zone a little bit, he doesn’t back away from the challenge that’s out there in front of him He did a great job this week.”
Cesare was also happy to see his friends, former teammates and coaches out there walking along with him during the tournament’s three days.
“It was super cool and I fed off their energy today,” said Cesare. “And I couldn’t be more grateful and thankful for their support.”
Ali Khan and Kash Bellar both finished the tournament with four under par 212s, placing them on the All-MAC team. Cesare totaled a two under par 214 for the event, then Carter Smith was an event 216, placing him 11th. Braxton Kuntz tied for 29th with 226.
In addition to winning the MAC, Ball State qualified for the NCAA regionals with the conference-tournament victory. They will be among 30 teams that will learn where they go during the NCAA’s selection show, which takes place at 2 p.m. today. It will be broadcast on the Golf Channel. Five teams will participate at six different regionals around the country, with Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex one of the sites.
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