EAGLE, Neb. – Nolan Zikas and his Concordia University men’s golf teammates find themselves in an enviable position following day one of the GPAC Spring Preview. The Bulldogs lead the field of 15 teams while Zikas tops the individual leaderboard with one of two rounds in the books at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Eagle, Neb.
Head coach Brett Muller’s squad turned in a 13-over-par 297 on Wednesday (April 11), giving it a two-stroke lead over second place Midland. Meanwhile, Zikas also holds a two-stroke lead.
“Of our top five this year, four of the guys finished their seasons last year at Woodland Hills and we didn’t play very well,” Muller said. “They came in with great focus from start to finish today. They knew they could play better on this course.”
Zikas shot a one-under-par 70, three strokes better than the team’s No. 2, Russell Otten, who is tied for sixth (73). The rest of the top five included Kort Steele (76; T-20th), Tyler Ehresman (78; T-28th) and Tylar Samek (81; T-43rd). Three other Bulldogs competed individually: Jayden Neal (82; T-46th), Grant Suchanek (87; T-60th) and Harrison Helmer (88; T-63rd).
“Nolan was very solid,” Muller said. “He’s had a very good spring. A lot of his practice rounds have been under par. He’s continuing to shoot scores right around par or around there. He was pretty consistent all day – a pretty effortless round for him.”
The mild mid-week weather should allow for another swell day on Thursday when action picks up at 10 a.m. from Woodland Hills. Concordia will aim for its first tournament title of the 2017-18 season.