By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
LAKE CITY, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's golf team is back in action on Saturday and Sunday, as the Cardinals head to the Jewel Golf Course for the inaugural Saint Mary's Invitational.
 
The Saint Mary's Invitational Field:
• Saint Mary's, ,Coe, Wartburg, Macalester, St. Olaf, UW-Superior, St. Scholastica, Bethany Lutheran
 
Saint Mary's Last Action:
• Sept. 15-16, 2018 * Galena, Ill.: Joe Abdo (Edina, Minn.), who opened the 36-hole Midwest Region Classic with a three-over-par 75, followed up with a four-over 76 for a 151 36-hole total to pace the Cardinal to an eighth-place finish | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
 
Saint Mary's Up Next:
• The Cardinals are back in action for one final MIAC Championships preview next weekend, taking part in the Saint John's Invitational. The opening round of the 36-hole event will be played at Greystone Golf Course, in Sauk Centre, Minn., on Saturday, with the final round taking place at Blackberry Ridge GC in Sartell, Minn., the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals' opening-round 315 at last weekend's Midwest Region Classic equaled their second-best 36-hole total (27-over-par), two stroke off their season-low 313 (25-over) during the first round of the Augsburg Invitational on Sept. 1. … Joe Abdo (Edina, Minn.) was the Cardinals' low golfer at last weekend's Midwest Region Classic, shooting rounds of 75-76—151 to finish tied for eighth individually. … Abdo has now recorded rounds of 79 or better in five of his seven competitive rounds—with the other two rounds being 81s. … Bryce Galewski (Winona, Minn.) also put together a pair of rounds in the 70s last weekend, shooting 76-78—154, while Kyle Brodt (Roseville, Minn. / 82-78—160), Alex Kren (Neilsville, Wis. / 82-85—167) and Tyler Dove (Hastings, Minn. / 82-86  168) rounded out the Cardinal's lineup. … Dove delivered his season-best, a four-over 75, during Day 2 at the Tim Kopka Memorial Tournament on Sept. 8. … Juan Sanchez (Bogota, Colombia) carded a four-over-par 76 to lead the way for the Cardinals against Macalester in the Mac/Mary Dual on Aug. 31, while Abdo delivered an opening-round one-under 71 and Sanchez tallied a second-round 77 to pace the Cardinals at the Augsburg Invitational. … Kren, playing as an individual, posted a career-best five-over 77 during the second round of the Augsburg Invitational on Sept. 8. … Abdo's one-under-par 71 is the Cardinals' low round to date, and the first sub-par round since Dove carded a three-under-par 69 during the third round of the 2017 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. … Dove's third-round three-under 69 was the Cardinals' low round of the season a year ago and just one shot off the single-round school record. … The Cardinals have already recorded 20 rounds of 79 or better this season. Saint Mary's posted 40 sub-80 rounds a year ago. … Abdo enters this weekend's Saint Mary's Invitational with a team-best 77.14 stroke average, followed by Brodt (77.50), Sanchez (79.40), Galewski (79.86), and Dove (80.00). … With their 12-shot win over Macalester in the season-opening Mac/Mary Dual on Aug. 31, the Cardinals have now beaten the Scots in each of the last three duals. … The Cardinals' 313.5 scoring average last season was a single-season school record, four shots better than the previous mark, set in 1995. … Saint Mary's seventh-place finish at the 2017 MIAC Championships was its best showing since placing fifth during the 2008 season.