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.