WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's golf team kicked off the spring portion of its schedule with a Ryder Cup-format triangular aginst Bethany Lutheran and Carleton.
The Cardinals, fueled by the play of
Blake Westerberg (Red Wing, Minn.) and
Connor Brandt (Woodbury, Minn.), picked up the team title, finishing with 6.5 points, while Bethany Lutheran was second with 6.0 and Carleton was third with 5.5.
"It was a fun way to kick off the spring season," said Saint Mary's coach
Matt Johnson. "The guys played very well and certainly enjoyed the format and the competition."
The tournament format was set up as nine holes of scramble, nine holes of alternate shot, while the final nine holes of best ball was cancelled due to darkness.
Westerberg and Brandt fired a 5-under-par 31 to win the scramble portion, while
Brett Jackson (Edmonton, Alberta) and
Hunter Rau (Plainview, Minn.) tied for first in the second flight with a 1-under 34 in scramble, and added another one-half point in the alternate show with a 4-over 40.
Owen Blakely (Elmhurst, Ill.) and
Thomas Garside (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) scored one-half point in the scramble with a 1-over 37, and Garside and
David Iten (Fridley, Minn.) won the third flight alternate shot with a 47 to record the Cardinals' other two points.
The Cardinals are back on the course on Tuesday, hosting Viterbo in a dual meet, before closing out their spring season at the two-day Gustavus Bobby Krieg Invitational on April 19-20.
