Leslie turns heads, Men's Golf posts solid showing at IU East Fall Invite

RICHMOND, Ind. - Defiance College men's golf turned the page to a new era at the IU East Fall Invitational at Highland Lakes Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The Yellow Jackets posted consistent scoring from top to bottom led by freshman Noah Leslie earning a top-15 finish in his first collegiate meet.

While DC finished eighth among eight programs in the meet, Defiance's twin 319 rounds from the competition was the lowest team score by the men's golf program since April 24, 2022. Additionally, the Jackets had multiple golfers shoot in the 70s in the same round for the first time in over two seasons.

Leslie and Jordan Walford each broke 80 on Friday with scorecards that read 76 and 79, each besting the lowest rounds by a Yellow Jacket since the spring of 2022. Leslie shaved three strokes off on Saturday to finish at 149 and tied for 12th place in his debut tournament. Walford also broke 80 for the second day in a row with a 78 to close the two-day event with 157 total swings.

The trio of Brenden Garvin, Bretton Basford, and Zack Palmer were all very consistent from day one to two as well. Garvin and Basford each mirrored the other with 82s on Friday and matching 84s on Saturday. Their 166 tallies over 36 holes were each personal bests in tournament play. Palmer made his collegiate debut and closed the invite with a score of 169.

Medalist honors went to Justin Hopkins from St. Marys-of-the-Woods with a 140 thanks to rounds of 67 and 73. Rio Grande brought home the team championship by shooting 580 as a unit over the two days.

The next competition for Defiance is on September 11 at Indiana Tech's Warrior Invite, which will be a one-day event at the Donald Ross Course in Fort Wayne.

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