CINCINNATI, OHIO- In search of redemption from last tournament's finish at Erin Hills, the Wisconsin men's golf team came out on top at the Musketeer Classic on Tuesday.

Behind second-place finisher Sam Anderson and three players finishing in the top 12, the Badgers won the Classic on Tuesday with a 54-hole total 861, four strokes better than runner-up Northern Illinois.

The team played strong from the get-go, shooting their lowest score during the first round with a three-under-par 281. This was Wisconsin's best finish of the season by eight places and 10 strokes. Last time the team took first was at the Pinetree Intercollegiate on Oct. 23, 2018.

"I am so proud of these guys," head coach Michael Burcin said. "We had a lot of discussions after Erin Hills, and I could tell right away they were ready to move on."

Wisconsin recorded season lows for 18 holes, 36 holes and 54 holes, averaged a season-best 286.66 strokes, and had a season best finish, blowing away its previous best ninth-place finish at the Bearcat Invitational on Oct. 1. 
 

A first-place finish for the team and a second-place finish for @Sam_Anderson19 make the trip to Cincinnati well worth it. Couldn't be more proud of these guys 👊🙌 pic.twitter.com/dYMAoJorYM

— Wisconsin Men's Golf (@BadgerMGolf) October 22, 2019

In addition to Anderson, freshman Coalter Smith took fifth with a 213 while senior Pete Kuhl was just one stroke back to tie for eighth as an individual. Junior Griffin Barela tied for 12th with a 216.

After the tournament, Burcin said "The entire team played well from Sam to Pete having a top-10 finish as an individual. The best part of coaching is watching your kids succeed and today was one of those special days!"

And succeed they did.

Anderson led the Badgers in the final round, pulling out a three-under-par 68 for the final round. His second-place finish marks a career best finish, beating the ninth place he took at this year's Badger Invitational. He also tied his career low 54-hole score. 

"Our team definitely knew what we needed to work on after Erin Hills,"" said Anderson.

Badgers breaking records was a theme throughout the entire tournament. Smith set career low scores for 18-holes, 36-holes and 54-holes to record a career-best finish.
 
Freshman Jack Blair also had a career-best finish, tying for 50th, shooting a career-low 225 for 54 holes.

The team hopes to carry the momentum into their last tournament of the fall season on Nov. 1-3 at the White Sands Intercollegiate in the Bahamas.

"We are looking forward to getting some good work in the next week or so and are all super excited for some warm golf in a few weeks," added Anderson.

 

Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Total
1	Wisconsin	+9	281	290	290	861
2	Northern Illinois	+13	287	284	294	865
T3	Morehead State	+21	288	293	292	873
T3	Ball State	+21	278	296	299	873
5	Butler	+22	286	296	292	874
6	Oakland	+27	292	288	299	879
7	Creighton	+31	295	284	304	883
8	Eastern Kentucky	+32	290	297	297	884
9	Northern Iowa	+41	295	299	299	893
10	Northern Kentucky	+45	294	293	310	897
11	Xavier	+47	302	296	301	899
12	DePaul	+51	296	301	306	903
13	IUPUI	+55	300	308	299	907

 

Pos.	Player	To Par	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Total
2	Sam Anderson	-3	70	72	68	210
5	Coalter Smith	E	68	71	74	213
T8	Pete Kuhl (Ind.)	+1	70	74	70	214
T12	Griffin Barela	+3	69	71	76	216
T50	Jack Blair	+12	74	76	75	225
69	Sebastian Iqbal	+18	81	77	73	231