RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Montana State University Billings men's golf team opened it's season with a second place finish at the Hardrocker Fall Invite hosted by South Dakota Mines University, which took place over Monday and Tuesday.
 
The Yellowjackets finished second overall in the event, held at The Golf Club at Red Rock Course, a par-72 course located in Rapid City. The 'Jackets finished with a team score of 591, totaling a collective 292 on Monday, before following that performance up with a team score of 299 on Tuesday. In total, five MSUB golfers finished in the top ten in the Invitational, out of a field of 31.
 
The Yellowjacket's highlight performances in the tournament came from the duo of Liam O'Halloran and Kevin Kolb, who finished with a share of second place with a score of 140, four strokes under par. O'Halloran (70-70) shot identical scores in both of his rounds, with his highlight coming on the second day, when he collected a hole-in-one on hole eight, a par-3. Overall, O'Halloran added eight birdies, and finished just six holes above par.
 
"It was a fun week in Rapid City," O'Halloran said. "I made my first hole in one on hole 8 with a 9 iron from 195. It was fun playing with my teammate Kevin the second day. We both played some great golf, and it was awesome to have him there for the ace. It was a great tournament for the team to build momentum for the rest of the fall season."
 
Kolb (71-69) finished with the single best round of any MSUB golfer with his second-round performance. The senior finished with three birdies in the round, and played bogey-free golf to finish with a 69 in the round, moving him level with O'Halloran. In total, Kolb had seven birdies, and finished with more than par on just three of the 36 holes he played.
 
"Red Rocks is a hard course," said Kolb. "You have to be accurate off the tee and accurate with your approach shots. I was hitting the ball well this week and putted even better which saved me from making bogey several times today. You need to pick conservative targets with a confident swing, and I think the team did a good job of that this week. Being able to build off this is going to be a lot of fun for the whole team. I'm excited to see what we can accomplish this season."
 
Following the pair for MSUB was Carson Garner, who finished sixth with a 147 (72-75). Garner played par golf on the first day of play, while finishing the tournament with one eagle, three birdies, and 24 par holes. Behind him, Blake Finn and newcomer Lucas Howell finished tied for seventh with scores of 152, each shooting 75 on day one, and 77 on day two. Finn finished with six birdies, while Howell collected three.
 
Paul O'Neil finished tied for 18^th, shooting 159 (79-80), finishing with one birdie in the tournament.
 
THE BUZZ: O'Halloran was selected as the Intermountain Health Golfer of the Day… His ace was the first for MSUB in tournament play since 2021.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets face a short turnaround for their next tournament action, when they head to Lacey, Washington to play at the Saint Martin's Invitational, kicking off Friday, September 22 and going into Saturday.