The guys on the men’s golf team are about to pack away their clubs for the winter, having just competed in their final invitational of the first half of the season, the Georgetown Intercollegiate.

The Demons wrapped up the invitational in sixth place Oct. 18 with Moritz Ackerhans, Russell Budd and Ben Westley all finishing in the top 20. Ackerhans and Budd tied for 13th with a nine-over score of 222. Westley finished with a total of 224, an 11-over score that led him to tie for 19th place.

Jan Juelicher finished in a tie for 42nd, and John Pavelko tied for 60th place. Brad Stephens played as an individual and finished in a group in 51st.

DePaul was one of 12 teams competing at The Members Club at Four Streams in suburban Washington D.C. West Florida won the team title in a playoff after tying with Michigan State in regular play. The intercollegiate tournament’s host, Georgetown, came in third followed by Campbell, Xavier and DePaul. Campbell’s Vaita Guillaume was a medalist with a seven-under total of 206.

“It was good competition,” Westley said. “We didn’t play as well as we liked after the first day.”

The team was within 10 shots of the first place team on the first day.

The team was within 10 shots of the first place team on the first day.

The tournament was difficult for a few reasons. One was because there were so many good teams present—some of the top 100 schools played. The other reason is the course.

“It was a great course,” Ackerhans said. “It was difficult.”

Ackerhans said there was one less birdie chance on this course than on most courses, making it more challenging.

“We definitely could have played a little better, but putting it in perspective, this is a stronger team than in September,” said Assistant Coach Ryan Jamison.This tournament marks the end of the fall season, and looking back the Blue Demons definitely see improvement but know there is still room for more.

“I think we performed pretty well, obviously not as well as we would have liked,” Budd said.

For Westley, the team performance looks better in every match.

“We improved on each finish,” Westley said. “We finished inside the top 10 in every tournament, and that’s a big step forward.”

The team has a lot of goals for the second half of the season, some more specific than others.

“I want to lower my scoring average to 73 or under. Right now it’s at 74.36,” Ackerhans said. “And I want to win a tournament.” The team as a whole is looking more to the end of the year.

“The main goal is to be prepared for the conference tournament,” Jamison said.

The Blue Demons don’t return to competition until Feb. 13 for the Match Play in Orlando.