Bison Golfers Claim Rhema Title

October 19, 2004

For the first time ever, OBU golf has scored back-to-back golf victories with the women, then men.

One week after the women's team won the South Central Kansas Fall Invitational, the Bison won the Eagle Invitational at Battle Creek Golf Club in Broken Arrow.

Russell Kern fired off one of the best rounds in school history, a 69, to lead OBU to a round of 297 and a final team score of 603. That left the Bison two strokes ahead of St. Gregory's University, who matched OBU on the second round.

Bacone College was third at 647, followed by Central Christian at 648 and Rhema Bible at 673.

Kern won the tournament with a two-round total of 142. 

"Russell Kern, the lone senior, has been with me since my first day here and is maybe the most consistent golfer I have ever been around," said Bison coach Rick Cody. "This was a well-deserved, pleasant surprise for him to grab an individual title his senior year. I couldn't be more proud for him."

Joshua Bryan was fourth at 150 after trimming eight strokes off his first round score for a second round 71. Jason Carpenter shot a 76 and a 75 for an eighth-place 151. Mark Richards shot a 160 for 11th place, using a 78 and an 82. Marc Johnson was 15th at 165 with an 81 and an 84.

The men's team plays in Oklahoma Christian's Sleep Inn & Suites Classic Oct. 25-26  a tournament with heavy competition and ratings implications.

"That tournament may have the strongest field, not counting the NAIA championships," Cody said. "It draws the largest gathering of top-ranked NAIA teams from around the country."

The Bison got a nice dose of confidence heading into that fall-concluding tournament.

"We're a young team trying to find its niche in what is arguably the strongest golf region in the country," Cody said. "They work very hard and it takes a great deal for a team to come together all at once on a given day."