North Dakota State Men’s Golf claimed its first tournament victory in Stillwater, Minnesota, at the Tommie Invitational hosted by St. Thomas. NDSU would dominate the seven-school field, including rival schools UND and USD. After three rounds at the Stoneridge Golf course, the Bison would finish with a team score of 878 (+14), seven strokes above host school St. Thomas, who would finish 885(+14). Ian Simonich would take stand-alone first place in Stillwater, shooting two even rounds and one -1 round. His consistent three-round performance would help NDSU take victory in Stillwater. NDSU would send two independent golfers to Stillwater. Carter Spalding and Beck Erholtz would both help NDSU take the victory.
Day One
NDSU’s first day in Stillwater was very successful. They finished the day with a stroke total of 580 (+4), a 13-stroke advantage on second place. The Bison would lead both rounds at Stoneridge, highlighted by their consistent performances and ability to adapt and improve throughout the tournament. North Dakota State had a combined total of 144 pars and 35 birdies through the first 36 holes in Stillwater.
Round 1: North Dakota State would start hot in Stillwater as they would tie host school St. Thomas for the lead in the Tommie Invitational after the first round. The Bison began the tournament with a team score of 294(+6). Leading The Bison in the first round was Jake Skarperud, with a score of 70(-2). He would lead the way with four birdies, 12 pars and two bogeys through the first 18. Following Skarperud was Ian Simonich. Simonich would shoot an even 72 in the first round with three birdies, three bogeys and 12 pars. Rylin Petry would finish third for NDSU in the first round with a 75(+3) score. Petry would shoot two birdies, five bogeys and 11 pars.
Josh Galvin would finish just behind Petry with a 77(+5) score. Galvin shot three birdies, four bogeys, and ten pars. The thorn in Galvin’s side would be a nine on the second hole, keeping him down to a +5. The last member of the Bison team would be Sean Moore. Moore would finish with the first 18, shooting 81(+9). Moore would shoot one birdie, seven pars and 10 bogeys, with six coming in the final six holes. The two independent golfers NDSU would send to Stillwater would finish fifth and seventh for NDSU. Carter Spalding would shoot 79(+7). His four birdies, six pars, six bogeys and two double-bogeys would lead to a grand opening performance for Spalding. To wrap up round one was Beck Erholtzs 83(+11). Erholtz would finish the morning round with eight pars, seven bogeys and two double bogeys. North Dakota State had a grand opening morning in Stillwater with only a few mishaps.
Round 2: North Dakota State would use their hot start in the morning round to piggyback into an even better afternoon round. The Bison would lead the rest of the field with a team score of 286(-2), with the second closest school in the afternoon being the University of Northern Iowa with 294(+6). Leading the afternoon dominance was Rylin Petry, who would flip his morning score with a 69(-3). Petry’s performance was highlighted by an eagle on hole 11, as well as his five birdies, nine pars, two bogeys and one double bogey. Ian Simonich would also improve on his morning score with a 71(-1) in the afternoon. After starting the second round with back-to-back bogeys, Simonich would settle down with 13 pars and three birdies.
The third Bison to improve on their morning score was Josh Galvin, who would shoot an even 72 bouncing back from the quad-bogey in round 1. Galvin would shoot five birdies, five bogeys, and eight pars. Sean Moore and Carter Spalding would both shoot a 74(+2). Moore would have an impressive afternoon, racking up fifteen straight pars, only being broken by a double-bogey on hole 16, and finishing the last two holes with pars. Spalding would shoot fourteen pars, one birdie, and three bogeys in the afternoon. Taking a step back from his team-leading morning performance was Jake Skarperud with a 77(+5). Skarperud would shoot three birdies, ten pars, three bogeys and two double-bogeys. Independent Beck Erholtz would wrap it up for NDSU with a score of 84(+12). Erholtz would shoot one birdie, seven pars, seven bogeys and three double-bogeys. Round two was a dominant performance by NDSU. Everyone showed out in the afternoon to take a commanding lead in the Tommie Invitational.
Day 2: On the second day in Stillwater, NDSU took a slight step back with a team score of 298(+10). This step back was still good enough for third place in the last round of the tournament, only falling behind the University of South Dakota and St. Thomas, who would tie for first place in the third round with a 293(+5). Ian Simonich would lead NDSU in the third round with his second even round of the tournament. He would shoot three birdies, twelve pars and three bogeys to win the tournament. Josh Galvin would take second for the Bison on day two with a 73(+1), one eagle, two birdies, ten pars, and five bogeys.
Rylin Petry finished third in the Bison standings in the third round with a stroke total of 76(+4) with one birdie, 13 pars and four bogeys. Three Bison would tie with a 77(+5) in round three, including Jake Skarperud, Sean Moore, and independent Carter Spalding. Skarperud would finish the final 18 with one birdie, 12 pars, three bogeys and a double bogey. Sean Moore had three birdies, nine pars, five bogeys and a quad-bogey. Spalding finished with three birdies, eight pars, six bogeys and a double bogey. Finally, to wrap up the winning road trip, independent Beck Erholtz would finish the tournament with an 81(+9) on his final 18 with two birdies, six pars, nine bogeys and a double-bogey. Even with the slight dip from the earlier rounds, NDSU was still able to perform more than enough to claim a victory that had been brewing all season.
The final scores from Stillwater are as follows:
Ian Simonich- 1st, 72/71(-1)72-215(-1) Simonich was named Summitt League Peak golfer of the week.
Rylin Petry- T6th, 75(+3)/69(-3)/76(+4)-220(+4)
Josh Galvin- T10th, 77(+5)/72/73(+1)-222(+6)
Jake Skarperud- T17th, 70(-2)/77(+5)/77(+5)-224(+8)
Carter Spalding- T33rd, 79(+7)/74(+2)/77(+5)-230(+14)
Sean Moore- T39th, 81(+9)/74(+2)/77(+5)-232(+16)
Beck Erholtz- 61st, 83(+11)/84(+12)/81(+9)-248(+32)
North Dakota State will continue their hot streak at the Monterrey Collegiate Classic on Oct. 25 and 26.