Men's Golf Finishes off Strong Weekend at Own Invite

The Buena Vista men’s golf teams combined to place four golfers in the top-15 individually over the weekend to close out its annual BVU Spring Invite held out at Lake Creek Country Club.  The “A” team took fifth overall (611), while the “B” team was 12^th.  A total of 19 teams competed in the two-day event.  Senior Troy Ticknor (Adel, Iowa/ADM) finished tied for fourth to help lead the way for the Beavers.

Ticknor, who was one-over par after Friday’s opening round, closed with a 76 on Saturday in cool, breezy conditions and was one of three individuals to post an overall mark of 149.  Mitch Brunick (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman) tied for 10^th after following up his first round 77 with a two-over 74.  Andrew Zinn closed with a 77 and tied for 14th.  He's now played five straight rounds of 78 or better.  Kyle Auffert (Clarinda, Iowa/Clarinda), who was at 80 after Friday, carded a final round 79 on Saturday, as Jaron Smool (Bagley, Iowa/Panorama) also bettered his first round score by one stroke.

Sophomore Shay Kaufman (Anita, Iowa/CAM) tied for seventh overall to help pace the “B” team.  Nick Johnson (Carroll, Iowa/Carroll) shaved eight strokes off his first round score and finished with a 162.

Overall, the “A” team finished with a score of 611 and was just eight strokes back of Southeast CC (Neb.), who took the team title  via a tiebreaker over both Northwestern College (IA) and Central College “Red”, which also carded marks of 603.  Morningside College was fourth with a 608.

The Mustangs’ Brandon Thompson (144) earned overall medalist honors, winning by three strokes over Southeast CC’s Calvin Freeman (147).  Thompson, who fired a four-under 68 on Friday, closed the event with a 76 on Saturday.

The Invite was the final competition for the Beavers, who will open the Iowa Conference Championships on Friday and Saturday (April 27 and 28) in Pella, Iowa.  The final two rounds will be played the following Friday and Saturday (May 4 and 5) at Iowa City. 

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