Men's golf shines in final round of Palace City Classic

By on Sep. 13, 2014 in Men's Golf

Men’s golf shines in final round of Palace City Classic

MITCHELL, S.D. – Last season the Concordia women’s golf program made a significant jump from 11th in the GPAC to sixth. The men’s golf team appears headed for a similar leap forward in 2014-15, as evidenced by Saturday’s round at the Palace City Classic in Mitchell, S.D. Spurred by Reid Wiebe’s one-over-par 73, the Bulldogs finished second among 16 teams on the day and completed the two-day tournament with a total of 308-305–613. That put them fourth overall.

Wiebe, a transfer from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, tied for second on the individual leaderboard with his 75-73–148. He finished just won stroke off the tournament medalist. In addition, senior Shawn Rodehorst held onto a top 10 spot by carding an 80 on Saturday. For the first time in his career, his score did not factor into Concordia’s top four for team scoring.

“Shawn and I were talking afterward that this was the first time in his career that his score was kicked out,” head coach Brett Muller said. “He was excited the way that other guys stepped up. It just shows how the program has developed.”

The rest of Concordia’s first of two groupings of five individuals included freshmen Payton DeVencenty (77), Russell Otten (77) and Tyler Ehresman (78). Among the three, Otten had the best overall individual finish with his two-day numbers of 80-77–157.

Compared to 2013-14, Concordia’s top lineup looks almost completely different. Wiebe may just find a home battling Rodehorst all year for the No. 1 spot.

“Reid played really well again today,” Muller said. “He continues to dominate par fives. He played them at seven under for the tournament, so that’s really a strength for him.”

The second grouping of Bulldogs was topped by Matt Otten’s 81. The rest of Concordia’s next five included Garrett Suchanek (82), Sam Simonson (83), Brock Colclasure (85) and Grant Worthington (87). This group finished the tournament with a score of 313-331–644.

Despite more difficult weather conditions on Saturday compared to Friday, the first group of Bulldogs actually cut three strokes off their score. Muller said his team did a great job battling wind gusts close to 40 miles per hour while playing at Wild Oak Golf Course. Friday’s round was held at Lakeview Golf Course.

Concordia had begun the day in a tie for 10th after shooting a 308 on Friday. The only team to shoot lower than the Bulldogs’ 305 on Saturday was tournament host and champion Dakota Wesleyan University. The Tigers were 12 strokes better than Concordia over the two-day invite.

The Bulldogs will return to Wild Oak in Mitchell on Friday, Sept. 19 for GPAC Qualifier No. 1. Two conference qualifiers are held in both the spring and fall golf seasons.