Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Boilermaker Invitational
MJ Smith Leads EMU with Outstanding Day One Effort at Boilermaker Invitational
4/9/2022 9:19:00 PM | Men's Golf
The sophomore is one of just eight players in the field that is under par after 36 holes
Full Results (PDF)
Live Scoring
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's golf team used a nine-shot round-over-round improvement in the second leg of its 36-hole day to position itself in fifth overall following day one of the 2022 Boilermaker Invitational, April 9, at the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course in West Lafayette, Ind. The Eagles are currently at 13-over par after firing a 581 (295-286). No. 21 University of Illinois leads the tournament and currently sits at eight-under-par (560) through 36 holes of play. No. 31 Purdue University is the only other participant in the red, at six-under (562).
Individually, the Eagles have been led by sophomore MJ Smith (Rockford, Ill.-Winnebago), who sits at one-under par for the tournament after shooting 141 (71-70) on the day. He now has 11 rounds of par-or-better during the 2021-22 campaign. Individually, he is tied for sixth with a slew of other participants. Illinois' Adrien Dumont de Chassart leads the individual field after an eight-under day (69-65).
How it Happened
After a team-best even-par performance of 71 during the first 18 holes of play, Smith was even better in round two. He recorded five birdies during his second trip around the course, while only shooting bogey-or-worse on three holes. Consistent throughout, Smith finished the day as one of just eight players in the field with a score under par.
Elsewhere on course, senior Cougar Collins (Caledon, Ontario-Mayfield Secondary) was able to improve by a wide margin during his second round. After a first round score of 75, the upperclassmen was able to battle back with an even par score of 71 in the second round to finish the day with a combined score of 146. That number is good enough to place him in the top-25 heading into the final round of play.
Smith and Collins were the only two Eagles to record rounds of par, or better, during Saturday's 36 holes of play. The duo were joined by two other members of the team that saw round-over-round improvement on Saturday as both senior Ty Celone (Long Sault, Ontario-St. Joseph's Catholic) (75-72) and sophomore Max Watson (Ashland, Ohio-Ashland) (84-73) were able to improve on their scores.
Up Next
The Eagles return to action for the final 18 holes of play Sunday, April 10, beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern is currently 10 strokes ahead of sixth-placed Troy (+23), and leads nine other programs participating, including Mid-American Conference foes Miami, which is currently tied for seventh (+24), and Ball State, which is in the No. 11 spot (+34). EMU is also besting three Big Ten Conference members (Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin).
Eastern Michigan Individual Results:
Pl. Player Scores
t-6. MJ Smith 141 (71-70)
t-25. Cougar Collins 146 (75-71)
t-28. Ty Celone 147 (75-72)
t-40. Zack Mason 150 (74-76)
t-64. Max Watson 157 (84-73)
Team Scores:
Pl. Team Scores
1 Illinois 561 (284-277)
2 Purdue 562 (284-278)
3 Rutgers 575 (290-285)
4 Illinois State 579 (301-278)
5 Eastern Michigan 581 (295-286)
6 Troy 591 (300-291)
t-7. Indiana 592 (296-296)
t-7. Miami 592 (297-295)
9 Minnesota 599 (303-296)
10 Wisconsin 601 (307-294)
11 Ball State 602 (298-304)
t-12. Butler 611 (312-299)
t-12. Loyola-Chicago 611 (311-300)
14 IUPUI 623 (316-307)
Players Mentioned
