The Dordt University men's golf team closed play with a third place finish at the Hardrocker Fall Invite, a two-day, 36-hole event held at The Golf Club at Red Rocks in Rapid City, S.D. The course plays at just under 7,000 yards and is par 72. 

• Results | PDF

With an opening round 313 on Monday, the Defenders improved by two strokes with a 311 in today's final round. Dordt fell back to third place overall after the host team, South Dakota School of Mines, carded a 301 in today's round and moved up to second. Montana State - Billings won the two-day meet with a 36-hole total of 611 (308 / 303); Dakota Wesleyan placed fourth with a 652 (335 / 317). 

David Chacon was the top Dordt golfer and posted his first top 10 finish of the season. Chacon closed with a two-over 74, tied for the third lowest score in today's final round, and finished alone in fifth place with a 36-hole score of 152 (78 / 74). Two more Defenders placed in the top 10 as Austin Faber and Caden Koole tied for seventh place overall. Faber carded an 81 this afternoon for a two-day total of 156; Koole shot a 78 both days. Caleb Douma fired a second-round score of 78, an improvement of four strokes, to finish tied for 12th overall (82 / 78 - 160). Eli Van Essen was the final Dordt golfer and placed 22nd (170 - 86 /84). 

Graedon Woodward (Montana State - Billings) won individual medalist honors with a two-under 142 (70 / 72), five strokes better than his teammate, Hayato Ito, with a 147. 

The Defenders will field a pair of teams in the first round of the GPAC JV Cup, a four-round, 72-hole event that Dordt, Northwestern, Morningside and Briar Cliff will compete in on Thursday, Sept. 19 at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City. 

Defender Notes:

• this was the first top 10 finish for David Chacon this season and the third for his career
• Chacon's 74 today was his second-best score of the season and was two strokes below his season scoring average
• both Austin Faber and Caden Koole placed among the top 10 in their first meet of the season, second of their career
• both Chacon and Caleb Douma improved their score by four shots from Monday's first round
• birdie count:
  • Chacon - 3
  • Douma - 3
  • Faber - 2
  • Koole - 1
  • Van Essen - 1