BEATRICE, Neb. – In polishing off a five-year collegiate run, Drew D’Ercole earned the highest GPAC individual tournament place finish Concordia University Men’s Golf history. D’Ercole shot a three-under-par 69 in round one of the 2024 GPAC Men’s Golf Championships in the process of placing in a tie for fourth. The two-day, three-round championship tournament concluded on Tuesday (April 30) at Beatrice Country Club in Beatrice, Neb., where the Bulldogs placed ninth.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad moved up one spot on Tuesday while leapfrogging Mount Marty. Concordia shot 303-314-314–931 for the tournament. The Bulldogs placed fifth in the GPAC in 2023.
“It was kind of the same thing we’ve seen this spring semester with inconsistent play in our lineup,” Muller said. “We had too many big numbers. Scoping it out a little, we were tied for fifth best in round one and tied for fifth best in round three, but round two really hurt us. We had the highest scoring in round two and that took us down the leaderboard and made it challenging going into today.”
The previous best conference placement for a Bulldog individual was fifth by Ivan Yabut (71-74-74–219) in 2022. D’Ercole eclipsed his former teammate while shooting 69-77-75–221 for the tournament. The Papillion, Neb., native was tied for first place at the conclusion of round one. D’Ercole finished five strokes off the tournament champion, Northwestern’s Jackson Laven, who shot even par for the event.
A staple in the lineup since his freshman season of 2019-20, D’Ercole has played in 92 career rounds as a Bulldog with a career scoring average of 75.8. His finish at the 2024 GPAC tournament marked his fourth top-five claim of the 2023-24 campaign. His 69 on Monday represented the best score for a Concordia golfer in a GPAC round during Muller’s tenure (began in 2011-12).
Said Muller of D’Ercole, “Drew had a great career. We thought he had a legitimate shot to push for the individual title. Today we shuffled our lineup around a little bit and played him at the No. 5 spot so he’d be the first one on the course before it got too windy. He put up a good score early. His ball striking was probably as good as it’s been all year, but unfortunately, not too many putts went in. That’s what led to his score. Drew to date is one of the best golfers in school history. He’s in the same conversation as Nolan Zikas and Shawn Rodehorst.”
Three other Bulldogs competed in all three rounds over the past two days. Junior Jake Hagerbaumer put together a solid tournament in shooting 80 or better each round (76-79-80–235). The Hooper, Neb., native placed in a tie for 28th overall. Next in line were freshman Jacob Dowd (79-75-84 – 238; T-36th) and junior Justin Webert (79-83-79–241; 44th). In Monday’s action, sophomore Brock Rogers shot scores of 79 and 88. Then on Tuesday, senior Gavin McWhorter jumped into the lineup and carded an 80. Like D’Ercole, McWhorter has wrapped up his college career.
Bulldog scores through two rounds of GPAC Golf:
TEAM: 303-314-314–931 (9th)
T4. Drew D’Ercole: 69-77-75–221
T28. Jake Hagerbaumer: 76-79-80–235
T36. Jacob Dowd: 79-75-84–238
44. Justin Webert: 79-83-79–241
Brock Rogers: 79-88-NA
Gavin McWhorter: NA-NA-80
The 2023-24 season featured a total of 11 varsity tournaments. The Bulldogs shot a season low of 291 in round three of the Blue River Classic (where they placed third out of 16 teams) back in the fall. One oof the season’s thrills came in the form of a 12-9 win over Doane in last week’s Bulldog-Tiger Cup. Concordia finished the campaign with a season average score of 306.9.