Benshoff's 74 Leads Gulls to Third Place Finish at Newbury Kickoff Classic

NEWBURY KICKOFF CLASSIC RESULTS

BROOKLINE, Mass.- Behind a 20-over 304, the Endicott golf team finished three shots off the winning score to take home a season opening third place finish on Thursday at the Newbury Kickoff Classic. The Gulls finished three strokes back of Castleton (+17) and one back of Babson (+19) while defeating Elms (+51) and host Newbury (+66).

Sophomore Drew Benshoff (Concord, Mass.) led the way for the Gulls as he shot a three-over 74 on the 6,305 yard Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Course and finished in sole possession of fourth place. The second year golfer finished five strokes off the medalist score of 69 that was fired by Castleton's Zachary Temple. 

Austin Teal (Loudonville, N.Y.) and Alex Viola (Brunswick, Maine), the only two seniors on the team, both finished tied for fifth place, just one stroke back of Benshoff with rounds of four-over 75. 

Sophomore Ben Palazzo (Farmington, Conn.) and freshman Christopher Billings (Topsham, Maine) rounded out the Endicott team scorecard with rounds of nine and ten-over, respectively.

TOP QUOTE

"Overall, I'm happy with our performance this afternoon," stated Endicott golf head coach Tom Smith. "At the end of the day we were only three shots out of the lead and 304 is a solid score to start off our season at a course that our guys weren't familiar with. We will improve from here and are eager to get a win early this fall!"

INSIDE THE SCORECARD

• Benshoff's round of 74 tied his career best for the second year golfer. His previous career low round of 74 was shot last year in the second round of the USM Fall Classic at the Gorham Country Club. 
• Teal's tie for fifth place marked the 25th time in his Endicott career that he has placed with a top 10 finish.
• Viola's round of 75 marked his best round since the UNE Invitational in 2014 at the Cape Arundel Golf Club where he shot a 70 on his way to tying for first place.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Gulls have over a week to prepare for their next competition as they return to action on Saturday, September 12 for the first day of the two-day Bowdoin Invitational. The Gulls will be looking to improve upon last year's Invitational that saw them finish in a tie for second place in the 12 team field at the Brunswick Golf Club. The par 72, 6,601 yard golf course saw Alex Viola finish second with rounds of even 72 and one-over 73 while Teal finished fourth with round of even 72 and three over 75 to lead the squad. 

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