Coming out of spring break, Men’s Golf will head to La Jolla, California, to compete in a 20-team invitational hosted by UC San Diego. The three-day invitational took place from Sunday, the 23rd, to Tuesday, the 25th. The Bison would compete with multiple teams west of Fargo and finish above the middle of the pack in 8th place.
On day one of the invitational, North Dakota State would find themselves tied for 8th place with Arkansas State with a stroke total of 307(+19). Ian Simonich would be the leading Bison on day 1 with a 74(+2) total. Simonich shot four birdies, eight pars, and six bogeys to finish 9th on the opening day. Josh Galvin would follow closely behind Simonich with a 77(+5). Galvin had one eagle, one birdie, 10 pars, four bogeys, and a pair of double bogeys to find himself in a tie for 31st place.
Jake Skarperud and Rylin Petry both shot a 78(+6) on the opening 18 holes. Petry would only manage to shoot 12 pars and six bogeys with zero eagles or birdies. Skarperud, on the other hand, shot a single birdie with 10 pars and seven bogeys. The pair would sit tied for 42nd. Finally, to wrap things up for NDSU on the opening day would be Max Wilson, who shot a 79(+7) to sit in a tie for 58th. Wilson shot two birdies, 10 pars, five bogeys, and a single double bogey.
Moving onto the second day, the Bison would find themselves climbing the leaderboards to 6th place as the team would shoot a flat 300 (+8). Rylin Petry would be the front man for the Bison on day two with an impressive bounceback campaign of a 71(-1). Petry, who tied for fourth place on the day, would shoot three birdies, 13 pars, and only two bogeys to finish under par. Ian Simonich would finish just one stroke behind him at an even 72. Tied for 7th, Simonich shot two birdies, 14 pars, and two bogeys.
Jake Skarperud would improve his score by one to shoot 77(+5). Skarperud shot two birdies, 10 pars, five bogeys, and one double bogey. Josh Galvin would shoot an 80(+8) with two birdies, eight pars, six bogeys, and two double bogeys. Finally, Max Wilson would once again finish last for the Bison with an 81(+9). Wilson shot one birdie, eight pars, eight bogeys, and one double bogey.
On the final day of the UC San Diego Invitational, North Dakota State placed 8th with a 297(+5), for a 3-day total of 904. Ian Simonich would finish in first place once again and finish the entire invitational in 4th place with his 74(+2). Simonich shot five birdies, seven pars, five bogeys, and a single double bogey to keep him from shooting even.
Rylin Petry would finish with the same score but would shoot two birdies, 12 pars, and four bogeys. Jake Skarperud would be the third Bison to shoot a 74 on the third day with his five birdies, seven pars, five bogeys, and a single double bogey. Max Wilson would finish a stroke behind with a 75(+3), four birdies, seven pars, and seven bogeys. Finally, Josh Galvin would wrap things up for NDSU in Southern Cali with a 76(+4). Galvin would shoot one birdie, 12 pars, and five bogeys.
North Dakota State Men’s Golf will return to action on April 7th and 8th in Estero, Florida, to participate in the Old Corkscrew Intercollegiate.