ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Instead of the originally scheduled match play event, the Concordia University Men’s Golf team competed in 36 holes of stroke play at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa, on Thursday (April 15). The yields were the two lowest rounds of the 2020-21 season for the Bulldogs, who carded scores of 295 and 297. The Concordia ‘A’ team placed seventh (295-297–592) out of 14 total squads in the tournament dubbed the Red Raider Cup (hosted by Northwestern).
Head Coach Brett Muller hopes his squad can gain confidence and build upon the season best outing. Seven of the nine Bulldogs in action either equaled or eclipsed career lows for a single round. This marked the first tournament style event for the Bulldogs since March 26-27.
“Overall we had some solid scores today,” Muller said. “It’s not very often when we are able to play with little to no wind and I think the guys took advantage of that. The course was set up a little bit shorter and the guys had more birdie opportunities today. We had several guys record season and career bests. I hope we can carry some of this momentum into next Monday at Dakota Dunes. It will be a great test and is an awesome host for our GPAC Championships.”
Out of the nine Bulldogs, leading the way was the team’s most consistent performer, Drew D’Ercole. He placed in a tie for 18th on the individual leaderboard with a total of 73-71–144 (even par). The 71 in round two marked a career low for the native of Papillion, Neb. D’Ercole’s spring also featured a tournament title at the Doane Spring Invite.
The remainder of the Concordia varsity top five included Jacob Woodmancy (72-76–148; T-29th), Ivan Yabut (76-74–150; T-37th), Gavin McWhorter (76-74–150; T-37th) and Nate Auffet (78-80–158; T-54th). New career single-round scores were carded by Woodmancy (72), Yabut (tied with 74) and McWhorter (74).
The Bulldog ‘B’ team included Jack Williams (70-78–148; T-29th), Taylor Johnson (79-71–150; T-37th), Harrison Helmer (77-84–161; T-61st) and Landon Walkenhorst (85-85–170; 66th). Among this group of Bulldogs, career low rounds were produced by Williams (70), Johnson (71) and Helmer (tied with 77).
The two-round total of 592 came up just shy of the school record of 583 for a 36-hole event. That score was achieved during the 2017-18 season. The school record for a single round is 288.
As mentioned by Muller, Concordia will be at Dakota Dunes Country Club next week with the Briar Cliff Spring Invite taking place April 19-20. It will be the final varsity outing of the spring before the Bulldogs return to Dakota Dunes for the GPAC Championships on April 26-27.