NEWTON, Kan. – This was the finest work so far this spring for Concordia University Men’s Golf. The Bulldogs followed up their lowest team score of the spring on Saturday with another solid performance while moving up from fifth place after round one into third place (out of 10) at the close of the Bethel College Invite. The two-day event (April 2-3) was staged at Hesston Golf Park in Hesston, Kan., in round one before shifting to Sand Creek Golf Course in Newton, Kan., for round two.
Head Coach Brett Muller brought two teams of five down to Kansas. The ‘A’ squad shot a two-round total of 292-299–591. That put Concordia behind only Dodge City Community College and Southeast Community College.
“I’m proud of the way the guys played the last two days,” Muller said. “Yesterday at Hesston, we took advantage of the nice day and minimal wind and shot our best team score of the spring. Today was a bit cooler and the wind really picked up later in the round. It was nice to see the team finish another solid round. Jake (Hagerbaumer) and Justin (Webert) both played well the last couple days. As a team we hope to continue this momentum into the Hastings Invite next week.”
Typically, the Bulldogs have been led at the top of the lineup by the likes of Drew D’Ercole and Ivan Yabut. At least for this weekend, Hagerbaumer and Webert stood out as the top Dawgs. A native of Hooper, Neb., Hagerbaumer shot a two-day score of 72-72–143 (+1) and placed in a tie for seventh out of 65 golfers. The result marked Hagerbaumer’s second top 10 finish of the season (also placed ninth at the Siouxland Invite). Meanwhile, Webert finished just off the top 10 at 75-73–148 (T-11th).
Yabut and D’Ercole were next in line. Yabut turned in a score of 72-77–149 (T-14th) while D’Ercole carded a 73-77–150 (T-18th). Rounding out the ‘A’ grouping was Jacob Woodmancy (80-81–161; T-37th). D’Ercole and Yabut were coming off top 10 placements at the Doane Spring Invite.
Gavin Buttshaw led the way for the second grouping with a total of 76-78–154 (T-26th). He was followed by Jaxson Fullerton (80-78–158; T-28th), Taylor Johnson (79-83–162; T-39th), Nathan Auffut (80-85–165; T-44th) and Tyler Bartels (88-92–180; 58th). As a group, the ‘B’ team carded a score of 315-324–639 and placed eighth.
The Bulldogs will wait until the Hastings Bronco Invite on April 11-12 to return to action. That event will be held at Lochland Country Club in Hastings, Neb. There are two more two-day events left prior to the GPAC Championships on April 22-23.