Bulldogs place third at Morningside Invite
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Windy conditions made play difficult for the field of more than 80 golfers at Tuesday’s Morningside Fall Invitational at Whispering Creek Golf Club in Sioux City, Iowa. Despite the strong wind gusts, junior standout Shawn Rodehorst shot a team best five-over-par 76 to lead Concordia to a third-place finish with a team score of 333.
“It was a very windy and blustery day on the course,” Bulldog head coach Brett Muller said. “It was not fun to play golf in. I’m proud of how our guys grinded it out.”
Rodehorst, a native of Kearney, Neb., continues to fight through hip problems that cause him to adjust his approach even from swing-to-swing. On Tuesday he looked closer to the form he showed this past spring when he turned in a sparkling 71.8 average over five rounds. His 76 put him in fifth place on the individual leaderboard.
“Shawn played very well again,” Muller said. “He shot a 76 and could have been much better. He was two-over-par going into the last two holes and played three-over-par on the last two. But he still played a very good round.”
Freshman Josh Hinrichs (Hastings, Neb.) followed Rodehorst with an 80, coming in just above his season average of 78.5 entering the Morningside Invite. Hinrichs tied for 12th place.
“Josh probably hit the ball as well as he has all year,” Muller said. “He had a couple bad breaks and struggled with his putting.”
The rest of the varsity lineup included freshmen Court Croghan (T42nd – 88) and Jared Knoepfel (T48th – 89) and sophomore Sam Simonson (T64th – 94).
Concordia also brought another group of five, which was led by sophomore Brock Colclasure’s 83 – good enough to place him in a tie for 21st. That score was four strokes off of the Central City, Neb., native’s season best of 79 in the season’s first meet. In addition, senior Sam DeFreece turned in a solid 86 for the second Bulldog quintet.
Rodehorst lowered his season average to a team low 77.0 after the first five fall rounds. Hinrichs comes in next with a 78.4 average.
The Bulldogs will get right back to action on Friday for day one of two of the Nebraska Intercollegiate Tournament in Norfolk, Neb. The field will include NCAA Division II nationally-ranked University of Nebraska-Kearney as part of a loaded field that includes several teams that Concordia does not typically compete against.
The fall season will end on Monday, Oct. 14 with GPAC Qualifier No. 2 in Lincoln, Neb.