CRETE, Neb. – A group of 15 Bulldogs represented Concordia University Men’s Golf at the two-day Doane Spring Invite that played out Friday and Saturday (March 25-26). Led by top 10 individual finishers Drew D’Ercole and Ivan Yabut, the Bulldogs got better on day two as the ‘A’ team shot a 304 in action at College Heights Country Club in Crete, Neb. The field of 54 golfers played at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Eagle, Neb., the previous day.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s ‘A’ squad wound up shooting a two-round score of 326-304–630, which placed it fourth out of 10 total groupings. Concordia, Doane and Hastings each entered multiple squads into the tournament.
“Yesterday’s round was a little disappointing. We just had too many big numbers on the round,” Muller said. “We only had one score in the 70s. Today was much better and we just had more consistent, better play. The guys had a better mindset. Because of that, we moved up the standings a little bit. The highlight of the day was that we had the second lowest team score of the day behind Morningside (293).”
A year ago, D’Ercole won the Doane Invite when he shot a 73-73–146 (+3). This time around, the native of Papillion, Neb., turned in a score of 79-76–155 (+12) and placed ninth – 12 strokes behind the tournament champion from Morningside. Yabut was right on his heels with a score of 80-76–156. During the 2021-22 season, Yabut has placed in the top 10 of four tournaments while D’Ercole has three top 10 finishes to his credit.
The rest of the Bulldog ‘A’ lineup featured Justin Webert (85-75–160; T-15th), Jake Hagerbaumer (82-80–162; T-18th) and Jacob Woodmancy (85-77–162; T-18th). Of the first grouping of five, Webert made the largest improvement from day one to day two. Said Muller, “Justin Webert had a great round today. He’s a consistent guy in our top five and a guy we count on.”
Below is a summery of the scores turned in by Concordia golfers at the Doane Invite. On the ‘B’ team, Taylor Johnson carded a 77 on day two. That ranked in a tie for fourth lowest among Bulldogs.
Concordia ‘A’
9. Drew D’Ercole (79-76–155)
10. Ivan Yabut (80-76–156)
T15. Justin Webert (85-75–160)
T18. Jake Hagerbaumer (82-80–162)
T18. Jacob Woodmancy (85-77–162)
Concordia ‘B’
T23. Taylor Johnson (88-77–165)
T37. Tyler Bartels (85-87–172)
40. Josh D’Ercole (91-83–174)
T43. Nathan Auffut (91-87–178)
T46. Gavin McWhorter (92-88–180)
Concordia ‘C’
T35. Gavin Buttshaw (82-88–170)
T37. Jaxson Fullerton (87-85–172)
42. Jordan Kracl (84-92–176)
49. Landon Walkenhorst (99-87–186)
53. Connor Zika (111-105–216)
The season will continue next weekend (April 2-3) with the Bethel College Invite set to take place in both Hesston, Kan., and Newton, Kan. There are three more two-day events remaining on the slate prior to the GPAC Championships.