It actually went in.
Senior Patrick Adler wouldn’t be pranked this time.
It wasn’t like a Big East Tournament practice round three years ago, where Adler thought he holed out on a par-4 only to be told at team dinner that his heroics were tomfoolery.
This time, it was real, and Adler’s first hole-in-one at the 201-yard par-3 16th was the dagger in his quarterfinal match-play victory over Shane McDermott en route to becoming the South of Ireland champion at Lahinch Golf Club, a course he grew up playing.
“My dad became an overseas member years ago when he and his buddies would go over on golf trips,” Adler said. “I first played it when I was 13, and that’s when he first told me about the South of Ireland tournament.”
Adler joined 2010 U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell as a winner of the tournament, whose past competitors include the likes of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington.
A mere 22 days after Adler’s win across the pond, Max Lyons stepped up to the 16th tee at Minocqua Country Club in the final round of play at the 104th Suter Ward Group Wisconsin State Open.
He strung together three under-par rounds of 65-70-70 and stood in front of the 198-yard par-3 two-under on the day, thinking he was out of contention.
“I thought I was five shots back,” Lyons said. “I didn’t really know where I was the whole day, which is kind of a good thing. I had a lot of fun with my playing competitors, so I didn’t really worry about the leaderboard.”
Then he birdied 16.
He did it again on 353-yard par-4 17th.
He nearly eagled the 410-yard par-4 18th as his heat check.
Lyons finished his weekend with a circle on the card one more time, and his scorching finish vaulted him to a two-shot victory over George Kneiser, an Oconomowoc, Wisconsin professional. He is the first Marquette golfer in history to win the State Open.
Senior year is now here for Adler and Lyons, and they both return to the second floor of the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center and the team’s practice facility with hardware. Lyons also returns as the reigning Big East Player of the Year.
Head coach Steve Bailey said the two have been ‘stacking their bricks’ towards their respective accolades.
“Max’s maturity and the way he manages his game on the golf course, he’s learned he’s super intelligent,” Bailey said. “Patrick has grown through his work ethic. He’s at the facility before 6 a.m. knocking out his drills and putting.”
Even without being able to play a practice round at the State Open due to schedule restrictions, Lyons said his course management is a testament to his success.
“Even when I am not playing my best,” Lyons said, “I feel like I still have a leg up on the competition because I work so hard to make sure I am hitting the right shot.”
Lyons and Adler led the way for Marquette at the Gopher Invitational in Independence, Minnesota. Adler finished 17th individually for the 5th-place finishing Golden Eagles, shooting four-over-par over the weekend. Lyons was right behind him at 19th and five-over-par for the tournament.
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected] or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.
