Dialed-in Theissler has historic finish to UNOH Spring Invite

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Defiance College men's golf team completed their final tune-up for the WHAC Championship with a two-day, 54-hole tournament that saw freshman Sam Theissler set a freshman record for his final round performance on Saturday at Bluffton Golf Club.

Theissler posted rounds of 82 and 83 during Friday's opening 36 holes but rebounded with a masterful performance on Saturday. In the final round, he carded a three-under-par 69 and matched two other golfers for the lowest round of the tournament. Theissler's 69 is the second-lowest 18-hole round in program history and tied the record for the lowest round by a freshman. He scored six birdies on the round and finished three-under for the round, which is the most strokes under par by a Defiance freshman golfer in the history of the program. For the tournament, Theissler placed 20th among 42 golfers with a 234 54-hole total.

As a team, Defiance finished eighth among eight teams at 995. Despite the overall result, the team finished the tournament with the lowest team round of the 2024-25 campaign at 306.

Jordan Walford and Zack Palmer also recovered from Friday's double round with their best 18 holes of the tournament. Walford totalled an 80 to finish at 251. Palmer turned in a season-low 77 with a birdie on each end of the course, ending the tournament at 254. Alex Moritz and Sam Boyles each followed suit to help the team to their lowest combined score of the year. Mortiz matched Walford's 80 to round out the team's top four followed by Boyles' 86, which matched his lowest round of the season.

Tournament host UNOH won the team crown with a three-round total of 890. Tennessee Wesleyan's Dalton Sutton and Adrian Martin topped the leaderboard at 222.

Defiance returns to the links for the conference tournament on April 27 at Gull Lake View Golf Resort in Augusta, Mich.

-JACKETS-