SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Both senior Amy Ahlers and freshman Murphy Sears shot identical 38s over their final nine holes on Monday’s first round of the GPAC Fall Qualifier held at Willow Run Golf Course in Sioux Falls, S.D. Those performances were the highlights of day one of a two-day fall conference event for head coach Brett Muller’s squad, which carded a team total of 386.
Concordia sits in ninth place, ahead of Dakota Wesleyan (398) and Hastings (406) on the team leaderboard.
Ahlers, fresh off the ninth tournament victory of her standout career, charged hard over her last nine holes at Willow Run. She shot an 83 and will enter Tuesday six shots out of first place. The native of Albion, Neb., is gunning for her fourth career all-conference honor.
Like Ahlers, Sears closed her day with a solid performance over the back nine. The Crete native sits in a tie for ninth place following her 85 in the first conference round of her career. She was followed in the lineup by Madison Pitsch (106), Payton DeMers-Sahling (112) and Paighton Barbre (141).
“Both of them did a nice job on their second nine holes of really getting in a rhythm,” Muller said of Ahlers and Sears. “Amy’s not content with where she’s at. She’s tied for sixth now with 54 holes left. There’s plenty of time left. Hopefully she’ll put together a solid round tomorrow and close that gap.”
Tuesday’s round from Willow Run was originally scheduled for to get started at 10 a.m. CT. However, expected inclement weather has pushed the start time up to 9 a.m.
“Pretty much every team took a practice round the day before the event,” Muller said. “Competing in against them for three days in a row makes it feel like a bigger event. It’s a much better format than the four one-day events.”