The Viterbo Men’s Golf Team had an eventful week which consisted of two-day events and a match play competition. The team put up some good numbers over the course of their busy week, but are still eager for more. 

The golfers left to go to Galena, Ill. on Sep. 16 to compete at the two-day Clarke Fall Invite. On the first day, they golfed at the North Course at Eagle Ridge Resort. The team finished with a 322 and was tied for third. Owen Bernstorf scored an impressive round of two over par, 74, which left him in third place individually.  

Day two was played at the South Course. The team score was slightly worse that day at 327, and they finished in fifth place. There were some positives. Bernstorf took home third place, Brice Klabunde finished in 12th place, and Freshman Sam Dobbins finished in the top 25 out of 58.  

Next stop in the golf trip was four hours north in Eau Claire, Wis. at the Frank Wrigglesworth Blugold Invite. The top six golfers qualified from the Galena trip and drove up the next day. The first round was the team’s best score of the year with 315. Nobody competing scored over an 83, and Bernstorf and Dobbins kept playing solid golf—both with 75’s. Nick Tennis had his best round this year with a 77. The following day he continued success—apart from a few bad holes. He said of the experience, “It was good to get my game back to where it should be, and I can’t wait to build on that in the upcoming tournaments.” 

After the second day, the golfers finished in eighth place with a total two-day score of 639. Aaron Raabe showed up for himself as the team’s individual, scoring 78 on both days. This effort placed him 25th overall among some strong competition from the NCAA. UW Eau Claire finished at 19 over for both days combined which secured them the win.  

The final event during the team’s week-long flurry of events was a match play event in New Glarus, Wis. Match play is a different format of competitive golf where each hole is a point and athletes compete one-on-one against another golfer. Aaron Raabe, Andy Odom, and Sam Dobbins competed as the top three for the V-Hawks, and they each won their match. Aaron kept up his form, winning his match against a player who shot under par. Noah Nelson played as the five golfer and despite going down five points after six holes, he made a comeback to tie his match. 

Keeping up on academics is always a struggle during these times in the season, but our sports teams are used to these types of trips. Junior golfer Andy Odom, who competed in all five days of competition to discuss his strategies, said “You have to commit to using the free time that we have to do what you have to do.” “As an athlete,” he continued, “knowing your schedule is important so that you have less to do when on these trips and you can really focus on your sport.” 

The team has three more events this season, all at top tier courses. Next week, the top five golfers will compete at TPC Deer Run for the NAIA National Preview. The following week is the home invite at La Crosse Country Club, then, two weeks later in Whistling Straits, the team will finish their fall season.  

The Viterbo Men’s Golf Team looks promising going into their most important events of the season and are planning to continue improving their scores through hard work and execution.