PAWLEY's ISLAND, S.C.- The Ave Maria University men's golf team teed off with some of the top NCAA Division II programs in the nation Monday and Tuesday, playing at Barton College's Spring Bulldog Clash in South Carolina. The tournament, which included five of the top 35 teams in the nation at the Division II level, was played at the par 70 Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawley's Island, South Carolina.

The Gyrenes were led in the first round of the tournament by Gabriel DeCasas, who shot a one-over 71 in a round that included three birdies in a span of five holes. Ty Kaufman was AMU's second scorer with a 76, while Matt Mullen was one shot behind Kaufman at 77. Ave Maria's team score of 306 was rounded out by Pierre Westhoff, who shot an 82 in the opening round of play. 

Kaufman took center stage for the Gyrenes in the second round, posting an under par round of 69. Kaufman's round included an eagle on the 571-yard third hole, as well as a birdie on the 14th. DeCasas and Mullen added to AMU's team score with rounds of 73 and 74, while AJ Cherubini rounded out AMU's best team score of the week, a 294, with a score of 78, marking Ave Maria's lone round of the tournament with all four scoring golfers shooting in the 60s and 70s.

In the final round, DeCasas carded Ave Maria's best round of the tournament with a two-under 68. DeCasas made four birdies in his round, including back-to-back ones on the 16th and 17th holes. Kaufman and Mullen both shot 74s in the final round, while Pierre Westhoff returned to the AMU scoresheets with a final round of 81, giving the Gyrenes another sub-300 round at 297.

DeCasas was Ave Maria's top finisher at Caledonia, placing 13th in a field of more than 110 golfers at 212 strokes. DeCasas finished the tournament as the best player in the field on par fours, shooting one-under on such holes. Kaufman also finished in the top half of the field with a 219, while Mullen was third among Gyrees at 225. Scores of 245 and 248 from Cherubini and Westhoff, respectively, rounded out Ave Maria's effort in South Carolina.

The hosts from Barton College, who are currently ranked No. 24 in the nation claimed the team title at Caledonia, using an eight-under par score in the second round to defeat Belmont Abbey College by nine shots. Two Barton players also sat at the top of the leaderboard in the individual competition, as Daniel Adkins held off a charge from teammate Harrison Wierse to win medalist honors by two shots at six-under par.

Ave Maria will essentially play every other week for the remainder of the season, a stretch that continues March 9, 10, and 11 at the Walsh College Invitational. The tournament will be held at Saddlebrook, a course that the Gyrenes played in last season in the same tournament. The golf will begin in Wesley Chapel on March 9, with the final round scheduled for March 11.