ORANGE CITY, Iowa – One day after Ivan Yabut broke a school record for best individual 18-hole score, the Concordia University Men’s Golf team finished off a tournament that equaled a program all-time best. The Bulldogs’ two-round total of 291-292–583 tied the program standard for lowest 36-hole score at a single event. That performance placed the Concordia ‘A’ grouping in sixth place out of 15 teams at the Siouxland Invite held Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 13-14) in Sioux Center, Iowa, and Orange City, Iowa.
Head Coach Brett Muller entered two groups of five into the tournament. The second Bulldog grouping carded a score of 305-304–609 (ninth place).
“Every tournament our team score has improved,” Muller said. “We improved from the Mount Marty Invite to the Blue River and from the Blue River to the Siouxland. We’re trending in the right direction. We have a lot of very capable guys. At this point we have potentially eight guys who could all make an argument that they deserve to have a chance to play in our top five. I’m very proud of that second group again. They played very well.”
Yabut shattered the previous school record for a single round by shooting a seven-under-par 65 on Monday at The Ridge Golf Club in Sioux Center. He followed that all-timer of an outing with a 75 at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City on Tuesday. His overall total of 65-75–140 (-3) left him one stroke shy of the program record of four-under (138) for a two-round event. The Omaha native led the field of 81 golfers after day one and wound up in fifth place, six strokes behind the winner from Morningside.
Said Muller, “That was really impressive yesterday. He had an early bogey and then made a birdie to get it back. He started on the back nine yesterday, the tougher of the two sides. Ivan really capitalized and put himself in position off the tee. He gave himself makeable birdie putts and rolled most of them in. He had a great chip-in for eagle on hole 8. It was a very impressive round.”
While Yabut placed in the top five of a tournament for the second time this season, freshman Jake Hagerbaumer moved into a tie for ninth place by the end of Tuesday’s round. He shot a score of 73-70–143. The team’s top golfer entering the week, Drew D’Ercole managed a top 20 finish (tied for 19th) while turning in a total of 74-72–146. The rest of the ‘A’ team featured Justin Webert (79-78–157; T-51st) and Nathan Auffet (86-75–161; T-58th).
The second grouping was paced by Gavin McWhorter and Jacob Woodmancy, who carded identical scores of 75-74–149 and shared 30th place. The final three Bulldogs at the Siouxland Invite were Jack Williams (79-74–153; T-44th), Josh D’Ercole (76-82–158; T-54th) and Landon Walkenhorst (89-92–181; 72nd). In sum, Concordia golfers combined for 16 rounds with scores of 79 or lower at the tournament.
The team’s two-round total of 583 equaled the school record that had been set at the GPAC Championships in the fall of 2017. Yabut just missed the 36-hole individual record that Nolan Zikas produced in the fall of 2018 when he shot a 69-69–138 (-4) at the Siouxland Invite.
The Bulldogs have two weeks to prepare for the GPAC Fall Championships, which will be held at Indian Creek Golf Course in Elkhorn, Neb., Sept. 27-28. Concordia is hoping to improve upon last season’s ninth place GPAC finish. Individually, Drew D’Ercole claimed honorable mention All-GPAC accolades.