White Leads Men's Golf with Season-Opening Victory in Iowa

Men’s golf kicked off the 2026 fall season with a top-five finish this week in Riverside, Iowa. The fourteen-team tournament teed off on Sept. eighth and finished the next day. The Bison were able to pull off a top-five finish, placing fourth right behind rival South Dakota. The host school, Iowa, took the victory, and Western Kentucky took home silver. It was a consistent showing as usual for Dr. Ekren Miller's squad; the team shot an identical score in the two opening rounds, posting a 354(-6) in both rounds. NDSU and USD sat in first and second place at the end of day one, with the Coyotes having a three-stroke advantage over the Bison. The Dakota schools would match scores in the final round, both shooting 364(+4) to fall back on the leaderboard. North Dakota State finishes its season debut with a 1072(-8).

On the individual side, sophomore Carter White finished at the top of the pack, claiming his first collegiate victory with a 207(-9). White opened the tournament with a 73(+1), which put him far down the leaderboard before responding with two of his best collegiate rounds. His 65(-7) matched the tournament low of the rest of the players; he shot eight birdies in this round. In his final round, he wrapped things up with a 71(-1).

Freshman Peyton Albers claimed a top ten finish for NDSU, shooting a 213(-1) in his Bison debut. Albers shot 2 rounds under par, 70(-2) and 71(-1), then finished with an even 72. Junior Sean Moore notched a top-20 finish, shooting a 217(+1). Moore opened up with a 71(-1) and finished with back-to-back rounds of 73(+1). Sophomore Andrew Ballou was one stroke behind Moore at 218(+2). He started hot with a 66(-6), but took a step back in the second round with a 78(+6) to be sitting even going into the final round, where he shot a 74(+2).

Finally, freshmen Henry Johnson and Elias Ekren both finished in 42nd place with a 224(+8). The duo matched scores in the first round with a 74(+2), Ekren would repeat that score in the second round, while Johnson would knock his score down to a 71(-1), then struggle in the final round with a 79(+7) while Ekren shot a 76(+3).

NDSU Men’s Golf returns Sept. 14 & 15 for the Wildcat Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas.