LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Drew D’Ercole shined on the second and final day of the Warrior Invitational hosted by Winona State University. D’Ercole moved all the way up from 33rd into a tie for 12th on the individual leaderboard at the spring’s first event, which took place at Stallion Mountain Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev., on Monday and Tuesday (March 7-8). The Concordia University Men’s Golf team placed 14th out of 16 teams in a field loaded with NCAA Division II competitors.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad carded a two-day total of 323-320–643 while knocking off the rust. It marked the first outing for the Bulldogs since October. Concordia got a chance to play two rounds in warmer weather and soak up some of the sights that Vegas has to offer.
“It was nice to get out of Nebraska and play a couple different golf courses down here over spring break,” Muller said. “We definitely saw some competition that we don’t typically see. It was a good trip for us to gain some experience. The guys are disappointed in the way they scored, but it’s still very early in the spring season and we haven’t been outside a whole lot. We definitely have some areas we can improve in.”
A two-time top 10 tournament finisher in the fall, D’Ercole made a push for a similar finish. He shot a one-over-par 73 on Tuesday while ascending more than 20 spots on a leaderboard including 107 golfers. The Papillion, Neb., native turned in a two-day total of 78-73–151. D’Ercole (18 pars and six birdies over the two rounds) was at least seven strokes better than every other Concordia competitor on Tuesday. Next in line were Ivan Yabut (81-83–164; T-78th) and Jake Hagerbuamer (80-84–164; T-78th). Yabut was the team’s top golfer during the fall with a scoring average of 73.4.
Said Muller of D’Ercole, “Drew played pretty well most of the round today. He had himself tied for third at one point after making an eagle and back-to-back birdies. He struggled to finish the round a little, but he had a really good tournament.”
The score of Jack Williams (85-80–165; T-82nd) also counted towards the team total. The three other Bulldogs at the event were Nathan Auffut (85-85–170; T-96th), Gavin McWhorter (81-93–174; 100th) and Jacob Woodmancy (84-91–175; T-101st). Williams equaled D’Ercole for the most improvement from Monday to Tuesday (five strokes).
Three teams tied at the top of the team scoring at the Warrior Invite: McKendree University (306-292–598), Northeastern State (307-291–598) and Washburn (304-294–598). Dawson Willis of Washburn won individual medalist honors with a score of 72-69–141.
The season will resume on March 19 with the Bulldog-Tiger Cup at York Country Club. Five more events remain on the schedule prior to the spring portion of the 2021-22 GPAC Championships (April 22-23). During the fall season, Concordia played in five events (10 total rounds).