LINCOLN, Neb. – The Concordia University Men’s Golf team entered the second day of the Doane Spring Invitational tied atop the leaderboard. A sterling effort from Southeast Community College on Saturday (March 25) left everyone else competing for second place. Ultimately, the Bulldogs finished as the runner up while beating out conference rivals such as Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Dordt and Midland. The Concordia ‘A’ team shot a two-round total of 296-295–591 (+19) and finished 14 strokes off tournament champion Southeast CC.
This was a fine first outing of the spring for Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad, which had the opportunity to play on its home course (Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb.) on the second day of the invite. The first day’s action took place at Woodlands Hills Golf Course in Eagle, Neb.
“It was going to be pretty tough for us to hold onto first with how well Southeast played,” Muller said. “It was still a real positive for us to bring home some hardware and finish above all the GPAC teams at the event. Both our team scores the last two days were basically in line with our average from the fall. We picked up from where we left off and we’re in a good spot moving forward.”
The field of 92 total individuals (15 teams) included 14 Bulldogs. The top Dawg amongst them turned out to be Ivan Yabut, who shot a two-round score of 70-74–144 and was one stroke over par for the tournament. The Omaha native placed in a tie for sixth place while notching his second top 10 finish of the 2022-23 season. The Bulldog ‘A’ grouping also featured Justin Webert (76-72–148; T-14th), Drew D’Ercole (76-74–150; T-17th), Jake Hagerbaumer (77-75–152; T-27th) and Jake Richmond (74-83–157; T-47th). All Concordia scores from the event can be viewed below.
The Bulldog second grouping shot a two-round score of 316-304–620 (ninth place) and was led by a strong showing from Gavin McWhorter (77-74–151), who posted the fourth lowest score overall among Concordia golfers. Ten of the 14 Bulldogs shot scores in the 70s while navigating Highlands on Saturday.
Concordia entered the event with a team scoring average of 293.8 for the season. The race for the top individual scoring average continues to be tight with Yabut (73.3) just in front of Drew D’Ercole (73.5). As a team, the Bulldogs have played in five varsity events in 2022-23. They have placed in the top five in four of those tournaments.
The spring season will continue next weekend (April 1-2) with the Bethel College Spring Invite. The tournament will be staged in Hesston, Kan., and Newton, Kan.
Concordia tournament scores (par 71-72–143):
T6. Ivan Yabut: 70-74–144
T14. Justin Webert: 76-72–148
T17. Drew D’Ercole: 76-74–150
T22. Gavin McWhorter: 77-74–151
T27. Jake Hagerbaumer: 77-75–152
T27. Jacob Woodmancy: 76-76–152
T43. Taylor Johnson: 80-76–156
T47. Jake Richmond: 74-83–157
T47. Jaxson Fullerton: 80-77–157
T51. Josh D’Ercole: 83-75–158
T58. Brock Rogers: 80-80–160
T66. Gavin Buttshaw: 83-79–162
T73. Tyler Bartels: 87-80–167
T85. Jonas Sommerville: 90-86–176