WHEELING, W.V. – Gustavus men’s golfer Jacob Pederson (Jr., Minnetonka) shot an even par 71 on the final day of the NCAA Division III Championships on Friday tying in 8th place out of 96 golfers with a final total of 74-75-71-71-291 (+8) . Pedersen was six strokes from the lead. Will Hocker of Webster won the the Championship with a final total of 69-72-73-71-285 (+2).
“We’ve known Jacob is one of the best players in the country and it was nice that he had the opportunity to prove it,” said Head Coach Scott Moe. “He will continue to get better and push himself. It was a pleasure to be on the course with him and watch him perform.”
Pedersen started the final round at Speidel Jones Course shooting par for the first three and a birdie on the fourth and the ninth to finish two under at the turn. He faced an uphill battle with a bogey on the eleventh hole and another on 14 finishing with an even par 71 in the fourth round.
“Really nice to find a way into the top 10,” Pedersen said “Had a mindset change after making the cut and just started focusing on each shot rather than trying to make the cut. Had really good control over everything the last two days and just did what was needed to have solid rounds and didn’t get caught up in the moment at all. Learned a lot from it and still have a lot to improve on.”