Washington native Alex Thode, drives the ball off the tee for the Lewis University Flyers golf team. Photo courtesy of Lewis University Athletics.

A Washington native began his final collegiate golf season earlier this week. Alex Thode, a 2012 Washington graduate, is a senior on this year’s Lewis University Flyers golf program based in Romeoville, Illinois.

Thode, the 2015 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Individual Golf Champion, was in Russelville, Arkansas, Monday and Tuesday competing in the 21-team Dave Falconer Invitational. The Flyers finished in the top third of the event, placing seventh with a team score of 590. Arkansas Tech, the host school for the event, earned the invitational championship with 571 strokes.

Thode finished the tournament with the lowest 36-hole score on the team, shooting a 144 over the two days. He opened the tournament Monday with a 73, dropping his score by two strokes on Tuesday for a 12th place individual finish.

Thode and the Flyers resume competition on March 19, traveling to Georgetown, Kentucky for the Cardinal Invitational hosted by Saginaw Valley State University.