Bison men finish runners-up in season-opening event
NDSU’s Brock Winter shot back-to-back 67s in the final two rounds to finish with a 7-under 209 to win a share of the medalist honors at the Savannah Intercollegiate Tournament held at The Club at Savannah Harbor this past weekend. Winter’s rounds of 67 were the lowest in the tournament and allowed him to recover from an opening round 75 to finish in a tie with George Washington University’s Manuel Barbachano (71-70-68).
Meanwhile, the men’s team finished in the runner-up spot with a score of 867. Like Winter, the men’s team bounced back and played great golf after stumbling to an opening round 306 (+18). The Bison shot 15 under par in rounds two (278) and three (283) to finish +3 for the tournament. That was good enough for second place behind Columbia University which recorded an 8-under, 856 for the win. NDSU’s 278 was the best team round in the 15-team field.
Ian Simonich, continuing on the theme of bouncing back, carded a 69-70 in rounds two and three, respectively to recover from an opening round of 80. Simonich’s net score of 219 (+3) put him into a six-way tie in 14th place. One of those players he tied with was teammate Gavin Cronkhite, who shot an even-par 72 in the final round to get to his 219.
Also playing for the Bison in this tournament were Nate Deziel and Nate Adams. Deziel, the defending Summit League Champion, shot 72-76-74 for a six over 222. Meanwhile, Nate Adams carded a 78-77-74 for a +13, 229. Deziel and Adams finished tied for 26th and 55th, respectively.
The Bison held firm after a tough first round. None of the starting five golfers was at or below par in the first round. But the next 10 rounds of golf saw the Bison shoot five rounds under par and two more that were even par, a nice recovery for the Herd.
Next up for the Bison is a trip to Florida in two weeks where they will participate in the Daytona Beach Spring Invitational to be played on the LPGA International course in Dayton Beach, Fla., on March 6th & 7th.