The two-day Beu Mussatto invite concluded Saturday afternoon, as the Eastern men’s golf team managed to finish in 7^th place down at Western Illinois’s home golf course. Harry Musatto Golf Club was the providing venue for the 12 participating schools and has been hosting the annual tournament the past 44 years.

As a team, the Panthers finished their regular season campaign on a strong note. This past weekend was the best finish the Panthers have had at any tournament for the spring.

The private school William Woods University, from Fulton Missouri took home the tournament title this year with all five of their members finishing in the top 20 spots. Junior David Houlding finished tied for 4^th place overall with a weekend total score of 219.

Host school Western Illinois finished in second place out of the 12 teams competing for the tournament. Andrew Blackburn was the Leathernecks’ top finisher. He shot three rounds of 70, 72 and 75 while finishing in third place in the individual standings.

The Panthers brought five players to compete Friday through Saturday. Alvaro Hernandez, Charlie Adare, Kevin Altenberger, Will Drerup and Alex Gowin were the Panther representatives.

The freshman duo of Adare and Hernandez were the Panthers’ front men on day two of action. Alvaro finished tied for 8^th place when his last round concluded Saturday. He shot three scores of 73, 76 and 72 giving him a weekend total of 221.

Adare shot a 71 on Saturday and finished tied for 16^th place in the standings. His tournament- ending score of 71 was the lowest round shot for Eastern during this years invite.

Panther freshman Altenberger shot a 75 in his last round on Saturday. He ended the tournament with a final score of 244 and was the Panther’s fourth best golfer.

The Panthers’ third best golfer was sophomore Gowin. He finished his three rounds with a total of 247 and shot his best round early Friday with a score of 79.

Senior, Drerup made his spring debut this past weekend and ended up tying for 59^th in the individual standings.

Indian Hills Community College had a third place finish in the team standings. Their very own Jackson Bugdalski finished in the number one spot for the overall individual standings. Bugdalski had three exceptional scores of 75, 67 and 72.

Overall, the Panthers managed to finish their regular season with impressive numbers. Eastern has had to pick a handful of players from their eight man roster to represent the Panthers at every tournament this spring. The five who attended this past weekend may give Eastern their best chance in the season finale next week. Eastern will play again April 25-27 at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Jack Arkus can be reached at 581-2812 or jtarkus@eiu.edu