Korte Leads DU Men at Southwestern Invitational

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Senior Korte earns Top-15 finish as team ties for eighth.

By Drew Kort

The DU men’s squad was on the course again at the Southwestern Invitational in Westlake Village, California. Hosted by Pepperdine University, the tournament transpired on a par-72 6,994-yard combination of the 27-hole  North Ranch Country Club’s Lakes and Oaks nines.

Team leader Chris Korte (Littleton) was the low finisher for the Crimson and Gold. The senior improved his scores in each round of the tournament, posting 75-73-71 for a final tally of 3 over par. He landed in a tie for 12th and logged his third top-15 finish on the season, but his first since September.

Eric Hagan, the sophomore from Aberdeen, Washington, posted 8 over par for his three rounds and earned his first top-25 finish of the season. Look no further than Hagan’s field-leading 2-under-par par-3 scoring statistic to learn why he had such success.

Promising rookie Jackson Solem (Longmont) posted 76-79-77 and 16 over par for a T51 result. Isaac Petersilie (Colorado Springs) was not far behind at 17 over par. He was in a tie for 53rd when play came to an end. Freshman John Sand (Hoquiam, Washington) finished T56 at 18 over par.

 

The squad finished tied for eighth out of 15 teams at 39 strokes above par and was only nine strokes from a tie for fifth on a bunched-up leaderboard.

“The course and weather were a great challenge this week,” said Head Coach Erik Billinger after the event. “I’m proud of the guys for competing hard this week as we picked up some really good head-to-head wins. Chris and Eric played solid, and it was fun to watch them compete.”

No. 22. ranked UCLA demolished the field by 20 strokes to win the team title; they were the only team in red figures at 8 under par. Kyle Mueller of Michigan earned the individual honors at 8 under par as well.

Host school Pepperdine finished a distant second.

With four tournaments remaining before the Summit League Conference Championship, the Pioneers sit fourth in Summit League team scoring average and are the highest ranked team in the conference, per Golfstat.

The Pios will look to build on their solid play at the Bandon Dunes Championship in Bandon, Oregon, March 11-13.

Click here for tournament stats and scores.

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