For the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, the Concordia Men’s Golf program will be without standout Drew D’Ercole, one of the top competitors in school history. D’Ercole slides into the graduate assistant coaching role in 2024-25 as Head Coach Brett Muller opens his 14th season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Muller fields a roster featuring five seniors, including three-year lineup regular Justin Webert, the team’s top returner from last season.
When at its best in 2023-24, Concordia proved it could hang with the top teams in the GPAC. However, the Bulldogs fell below their expectations at the 2024 GPAC Championships when they placed ninth, a four-spot dip from the previous year. They seek greater consistency heading into the fall.
Said Muller in assessing this year’s team, “Drew was a great player in our program the last five years. He is filling the role as graduate assistant. He’ll do a great job. He’s battle-tested and he’s been in those situations. He’s definitely somebody the guys can lean on for advice and for guidance. We have a large senior class this year. We have a lot of guys who have been in and out of the varsity lineup. We’re really looking for some guys to step up and solidify themselves in that lineup.”
The process of solidifying a strong top five began on Aug. 15 when the Bulldogs reported to campus. During the preseason, Concordia has hit the links at its home course of Highlands and elsewhere in the area. There are plenty of familiar faces as the five seniors are joined by two juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. Webert headlines a senior group that includes Gavin Buttshaw, Josh D’Ercole, Jaxson Fullerton and Jake Hagerbaumer.
Webert (Lincoln, Neb.) and Hagerbaumer (Hooper, Neb.) both played in all 25 varsity rounds during the 2023-24 campaign. Webert averaged a score of 76.6 (lowest among returners) last season and has shown the potential to place highly in the GPAC. Webert performed especially well during spring break when he shot 75-70–145 and placed seventh at the Maverick Desert Classic. There are four other returners who averaged in the 70s: Jake Richmond (77.7), Hagerbaumer (78.2), D’Ercole (78.9) and Jacob Dowd (79.8).
Said Muller of Webert, “Justin’s end to his junior campaign didn’t go as well as he would have liked, but he’s had a great fall camp so far. I definitely expect him to be one of our leaders and one of the guys who plays at the top of our lineup all year.”
From a team perspective, the Bulldogs hope to harness their best performances from last season that saw them shoot six rounds below 300. The season best of 291 came at home as part of the Blue River Classic, which wrapped up with Concordia placing third out of 16 teams. Additionally, the Bulldogs shot a solid 303 in round one of the GPAC tournament before falling off the pace in rounds two and three.
“I think we’re going to be good,” Webert said. “We’re young and old, but we’re really close. There’s 11 of us and we’re all pretty much best friends. I think we were a good team last year. We just didn’t play the best that we could, especially at GPAC. Our finish at GPAC didn’t really reflect how our season went.”
Aside from the seniors, the junior class is made up of Richmond and Brock Rogers, the sophomores are Bret Brenneis, Dowd and Maxwell Fremarek and the lone freshman is Isaac Carson. Based upon last season’s results, the battle for spots in the varsity lineup figures to be fierce. With the fall season about to officially get underway, Concordia is working on establishing a foundation.
Said Muller, “We sat down with each team and went over some goal setting. We set some pretty lofty goals. I do think they’re attainable. The fall season sets a foundation for the spring. We all know that the spring weather is a lot different than the fall. It’s not as nice. You play through a little more adversity. We know that a lot of our habits will be created in the fall with how we practice and approach our preparation.”
The fall portion of the 2024-25 slate is made up of five varsity events and two junior varsity tournaments. The action gets started this Monday-Tuesday (Aug. 26-27) with the Mount Marty Invite. The Bulldogs also look forward to co-hosting the Blue River Classic with Doane in early September. The entire schedule can be found HERE. The 2025 GPAC Men’s Golf Championships are set for April 21-22 in Beatrice, Neb.
Bulldogs open fall season with 303 team score at Mount Marty Invite
Aug. 26, 2024
YANKTON, S.D. – Just as classes got underway for the 2024-25 academic year, the Concordia University Men’s Golf team opened a new season with at the Mount Marty Invite on Monday (Aug. 26). On day one of two of the event, 10 Bulldogs navigated the course at Hillcrest Country Club in Yankton, S.D., and emerged with five individual scores of 77 or lower. In the team standings, Concordia’s ‘A’ grouping stands in seventh place (out of 15) with 18 holes left to be played on Tuesday.
This is the beginning of Brett Muller’s 14th season as head coach of Bulldog Golf. This year’s squad features five seniors, including top returner Justin Webert, a Lincoln Southwest High School alum.
Webert paced the Bulldogs in Monday’s round with a two-over-par 72. He currently resides in a tie for 12th place amongst the 87 golfers in the field. Webert sits five strokes behind the two tournament co-leaders who shot 69 in round one. Other Concordia competitors to turn in scores in the 70s were sophomore Jacob Dowd (75), senior Jake Hagerbaumer (75) and juniors Jake Richmond (77) and Brock Rogers (77). Complete day one scores are listed below.
Mount Marty Invite Day 1 Results: ‘A’ Team – 7th place (303) T12. Justin Webert: 74 T15. Jacob Dowd: 75 T15. Jake Hagerbaumer: 75 T31. Jake Richmond: 77 T31. Brock Rogers: 77 T51. Gavin Buttshaw: 80 T61. Josh D’Ercole: 82 T61. Jaxson Fullerton: 82 T68. Bret Brenneis: 84 T76. Isaac Carson: 87
The ’A’ team score of 303 puts the Bulldogs seven strokes off the lead, which is shared by Morningside and Northeast Community College. The tournament field also includes GPAC members in Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Dordt and Mount Marty. The Concordia ‘B’ team shot a 321 on Monday.
The Mount Marty Invite is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday from Fox Run Golf Course. Live scoring can be followed via the Golf Genius app with the GGID of MMUMENS24.
Hagerbaumer, Richmond shoot below par as Bulldogs move up at Mount Marty Invite
Aug. 27, 2024
YANKTON, S.D. – The Concordia University Men’s Golf team slashed eight strokes off its day one total while completing the Mount Marty Invite on Tuesday (Aug. 27). Senior Jake Hagerbaumer and junior Jake Richmond helped move the Bulldogs up the team standings while carding scores below par in the second and final round of the 2024-25 season’s first tournament. Concordia wound up in fifth place while up against GPAC rivals such as Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Dordt, Morningside and Mount Marty.
Head Coach Brett Muller traveled 10 golfers to Yankton, S.D. The Concordia ‘A’ team shot 303-295–598 for the tournament while the ‘B’ team shot 321-312–633. The courses were Hillcrest Country Club and Fox Run Golf Course.
“We’re probably a little bit behind where we wanted to be,” Muller said. “Overall for the first tournament, it was okay. To have two guys shoot under par on the same day is always a good thing. We just had too many bogeys, but it’s hard to complain about our 295 (on day two).”
The Hooper, Neb., native Hagerbaumer shot a one-under-par 71 on Tuesday and vaulted from 15th into a tie for 10th on the final individual leaderboard. He shot 75-71–146 for the tournament. Hagerbaumer was followed closely by Richmond, who placed 18th while shooting 77-71–148 and matching Hagerbaumer on the second day. The next best for the Bulldogs were senior Justin Webert (74-75–149; T-23rd) and sophomore Jacob Dowd (75-75–150; T-27th). Dowd was the top performer for Concordia’s ‘B’ squad.
The full list of Concordia scores can be found below. The Bulldogs managed to beat out other ‘A’ teams from Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan, Dordt and Mount Marty. Seven of the 10 Concordia individuals improved their scores on day two of the Mount Marty Invite. Between the two rounds, the Bulldogs carded 13 scores in the 70s.
Said Muller, “I think we’re going to have more consistency than we had last year, but we’ll still have quite a few guys with the ability and the opportunity to play in our top five. Our guys know that and they know they need to bring it every tournament.”
Mount Marty Invite Results: ‘A’ Team – 5th place (303-295–598) T10. Jake Hagerbaumer: 75-71–146 T18. Jake Richmond: 77-71–148 T23. Justin Webert: 74-75–149 T27. Jacob Dowd: 75-75–150 T44. Brock Rogers: 77-78–155 T49. Gavin Buttshaw: 80-76–156 T58. Josh D’Ercole: 82-78–160 T60. Jaxson Fullerton: 82-79–161 T73. Bret Brenneis: 84-82–166 77. Isaac Carson: 87-84–171
Next up will be the annual Blue River Classic co-hosted by Concordia and Doane. That tournament will be held at Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 4-5, with action teeing off at 8:30 a.m. CT both days. The format for the tournament will be 36 holes on day one and 18 holes on day two.
Rogers paces Bulldogs on day one of Blue River Classic
LINCOLN, Neb. – A warm and breezy late summer day greeted the field of 83 golfers as the 2024 Blue River Classic got underway at Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. Junior Brock Rogers highlighted the efforts of the Concordia University Men’s Golf team with a 73-76–150 on an action-packed, 36-hole Wednesday (Sept. 4). With one round left to be played, the Bulldog ‘A’ group stands in ninth place out of 16 squads (13 total institutions).
Head Coach Brett Muller entered 10 competitors into the tournament that is co-hosted by Concordia and Doane. The top five Bulldogs combined to shoot a team score of 303-299–602 on the home course.
A native of Tekamah, Neb., Rogers will enter the final 18 holes of the tournament in a tie for 29th place. Rogers was joined in the varsity lineup by Jake Richmond (76-74–150; T-32nd), Jacob Dowd (79-72–151; T-36th), Justin Webert (75-77–152; T-43rd) and Jake Hagerbaumer (82-78–160; T-67th). Dowd shot an even par 72 in round two. Complete Concordia scores are listed below.
Heading into round three, the top five in the team standings are Indian Hills Community College (279-274–553), Iowa Western Community College (288-278–566), Morningside (289-294–583), Northeast Community College (292-291–583) and Doane (298-287–585). Concordia’s ‘B’ team shot 316-315–631. There are six GPAC institutions represented in the field.
The third and final round of the 2024 Blue River Classic is scheduled to get underway at 8:30 a.m. CT on Thursday from Highlands Golf Course. Live scoring can be followed via Clippd at this link: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournament-leaderboard/233151/scoring/team. Additional information about the tournament can be found HERE.
Dowd vaults up leaderboard, Concordia takes eighth place at home invite
LINCOLN, Neb. – Sophomore Jacob Dowd sizzled over the final two rounds of the annual Blue River Classic while pushing Concordia University Men’s Golf into a final placement of tied for eighth amongst the 16 groupings (12 institutions) in the tournament field. Dowd shot back-to-back even par rounds and climbed from 36th after Wednesday to 27th on the final individual leaderboard. There were 84 individuals, including 10 Bulldogs, who competed throughout the two-day (Sept. 4-5) event.
Head Coach Brett Muller’s squads turned in respective team totals of 303-299-300–902 (‘A’) and 316-315-312–943 (‘B’) on the home course, Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb., where Concordia and Doane served as tournament co-hosts.
“Overall, we’re pretty disappointed to finish eighth,” Muller said. “We do have higher expectations playing on our home course. It was a little bit tougher than the setup we play every day in practice. We struggled a bit. Round two, we got out to a great start as a team. We were four under par after seven holes and climbed the leaderboard to fifth at the time. We struggled to finish. After nine holes today, we were two over par as a team and tied for the second best team score of the day at that point. We saw some good stretches from a lot of different guys.”
A Gretna, Neb., native, Dowd turned in back-to-back rounds that eclipsed his previous career low 18-hole score of 75. In doing so, he significantly cut back on his 79 from round one at the Blue River Classic. Dowd is looking to make a big jump after he averaged a score of 79.8 as a freshman in 2023-24. He was backed in the lineup by junior Brock Rogers, Concordia’s top golfer at the conclusion of Wednesday’s action. Rogers finished two strokes behind Dowd and placed in a tie for 35th (73-76-76–225).
The rest of the Bulldog ‘A’ team featured junior Jake Richmond (76-74-77–227; T-41st) and seniors Justin Webert (75-77-76–228; T-46th) and Jake Hagerbaumer (82-78-76–236; 62nd). In leading the way for the ‘B’ team, senior Jaxson Fullerton shot 75-76-75–226 and placed in the top 40 overall. Additional scores for Concordia individuals are listed below.
Said Muller, “Jacob Dowd was the bright spot for us on the individual side and Brock Rogers had a 73 in round one. We just need some guys to step up and grab those top five spots and eliminate the big numbers, and our team score will go down.”
The tournament field included some serious competition. Indiana Hills Community College won the team title while shooting an eye-popping 32 under par. Indian Hills boasted the top five individual finishers. The top three teams were all junior colleges. From a GPAC perspective, Doane placed fourth, Morningside fifth, Midland sixth, Briar Cliff eighth (tied), Dordt 12th and Mount Marty 13th.
Blue River Classic Final Results ‘A’ Team – 303-299-300–902 (8th/16) T27. Jacob Dowd: 79-72-72–223 T35. Brock Rogers: 73-76-76–225 T39. Jaxson Fullerton: 75-76-75–226 T41. Jake Richmond: 76-74-77–227 T46. Justin Webert: 75-77-76–228 62. Jake Hagerbaumer: 82-78-76–236 T63. Gavin Buttshaw: 81-79-77–237 T65. Isaac Carson: 79-78-81–238 T72. Bret Brenneis: 82-82-80–244 T75. Maxwell Fremarek: 81-87-80–248
Up next on the fall slate will be the Siouxland Invite this coming Monday-Tuesday (Sept. 9-10). Co-hosted by Dordt and Northwestern, the tournament will take place at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa, on day one before shifting to Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa, on day two.
Buttshaw, Hagerbaumer stand atop Concordia leaderboard after Siouxland day one
Sep. 9, 2024
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – There is work to be done from a team scoring perspective with day one of two in the books at the Siouxland Invitational co-hosted by Dordt and Northwestern. Over the first 36 holes, senior Jake Hagerbaumer has paced the ‘A’ team while senior Gavin Buttshaw has started for the ‘B’ team while representing Concordia University Men’s Golf. Ten of the 96 golfers in the Siouxland Invite field are Bulldogs.
Out of 18 groupings, Head Coach Brett Muller’s ‘A’ team resides in 13th place with a two-round total of 310-311–621 carded at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa. The ‘B’ team shot 331-319–650.
The Hooper, Neb., native Hagerbaumer (78-73–151) put together a strong second 18 in posting a one-over-par 73. He moved into a tie for 36th place with 18 holes left to be contested. Meanwhile, Buttshaw shot the exact same score in both rounds. His 73 represented a season low. Hagerbaumer was joined on the ‘A’ team by junior Jake Richmond (71-81–152; T-43rd), senior Justin Webert (79-78–157; T-61st), junior Brock Rogers (82-79–161; T-72nd) and sophomore Jacob Dowd (82-85–167; T-85th). All Concordia scores from the day are included below.
The tournament field is loaded with GPAC competition, including Northwestern (first place), Doane (third), Hastings (fourth), Morningside (sixth), Dakota Wesleyan (tied for seventh), Mount Marty (12th) and Dordt (14th). The Siouxland Invite also features two NCAA Division III institutions, Nebraska Wesleyan and Buena Vista University (Iowa), and one junior college.
The final round of the Siouxland Invite is slated to get underway from Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa, at 9:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday. Live scoring can be followed via Golf Genius while using the GGID of MSIOUXLAND24.
Bulldogs shoot 302 in final round, place 12th at Siouxland Invite
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Following a tough first day on the course, the Concordia University Men’s Golf team displayed progress in the final round of the 2024 Siouxland Invitational co-hosted by Dordt and Northwestern. The Bulldog ‘A’ team ultimately wound up in 12th place out of 18 squads at the two-day event (Sept. 9-10) that featured golfers from eight GPAC institutions. Senior Jake Hagerbaumer shot back-to-back 73s to close out the tournament in strong fashion.
Graduate Assistant Coach Drew D”Ercole accompanied the team to Northwest Iowa as Head Coach Brett Muller traveled west with the women’s team. The Concordia men’s ‘A’ grouping finished the Siouxland Invite with a three-round score of 310-311-302–923. The action on day one took place at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center, Iowa, before shifting to Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa, for day two.
The best single round for a Bulldog over the past two days was an even-par 71 produced by junior Jake Richmond in round one. As for Hagerbaumer, he shot 78 in round one before tightening up his game and finishing in a tie for 26th place overall (78-73-73–224) out of 96 competitors. Hagerbaumer was followed in the ‘A’ team lineup by Richmond (71-81-78–230; T-47th), senior Justin Webert (79-78-77–234; T-57th), junior Brock Rogers (82-79-74–235; T-60th) and sophomore Jacob Dowd (82-85-78–245; T-82nd).
The Bulldog ‘B’ squad shot 331-319-313–963. Senior Gavin Buttshaw was the top Dawg in the group with his score of 78-73-79–230. He tied with Richmond for 47th place. All Concordia scores from the event are listed below.
The next official varsity tournament will be the Bent Tree Intercollegiate at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sept. 23-24. The remaining fall slate includes two varsity and two junior varsity tournaments. Through the first eight rounds, the Bulldog varsity has averaged a team score of 302.9. Their season low of 295 came in round two of the Mount Marty Invite.