HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The Gustavus men’s golf team shot a 313 (+25) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championships on Tuesday at Mission Inn Resort and Club’s El Campeon Course. The Gusties are in 24th place out of 43 teams and will look to make the cut of the top 18 teams after tomorrow’s second round.
As he has done all season, Jacob Pederson (Sr., Minnetonka) led the Gusties on day one with a one-over par 73. Pedersen carded two birdies and three bogies and is tied for 15th place out of 221 golfers. Sam Skaar (Sr., Coleraine) is tied for 107th after posting a 79. Max Ullan (Sr., Blaine) is tied for 136th with an 81, Wyatt Wasko (Jr., Lake Elmo) is tied for 148th at 82, and Ben Forsberg (So., Shafer) is tied for 172nd at 84.
“Not an easy day on the course, but if you were committed to making pars and accepting bogies it was a little easier,” Head Coach Scott Moe said. “JP was poised today and put together a great round. The rest of us struggled to try and put together 18 holes. We talked about saving bogies and avoiding doubles and triples and somehow we found plenty of them. When that happens on a course that doesn’t yield many birdies, you’re going to dig yourself a hole. Thankfully we’ve got another opportunity tomorrow morning on the other golf course to showcase how we can play. Patience will be a big factor. Again, we can’t think about shooting a lot of low numbers, it’s not out there, pars will be at a premium. I look forward to a great battle and a strong finish.”
Carnegie Mellon leads the field with a score of 287 (-1). William Knauth of Carnegie Mellon is the individual leader at 69 (-3).
Round two of the four-round championship begins Wednesday morning.