Men's golf swings into spring season

The Augustana men’s golf checked off four of its spring tournaments over the past month, taking home placings ranging from second to 16th in states from Arizona to Oklahoma. 

Most recently, the team placed 16th with a score of 929 on April 1-2 at The Showdown Invitational in Monkey Island, Oklahoma. The Vikings finished 77-over-par at Shangri-La Country Club, tallying 113 pars and 30 birdies.

Junior Will Allen led the vikings with 24 pars, nine birdies and one eagle. Allen finished the tournament with a score of 226 over three rounds.

Sophomore Jacob Stewart added a stroke count of 228, shooting 1-under-par in round one.

The Vikings heated up more spring conference play on March 25-26 in Smithville, Missouri, where the Vikings earned seventh place at the NSIC Preview Invitational with a combined score of 603. 

Allen led the Vikings with his fourth-place finish and rounds of 69 and 74 — a combined score of 143. 

“It was cold, really cold, and I knew if I played my game and took things one shot at a time, I could pass up a lot of the guys in front of me,” Allen said. “In the first round, I hit it well and just putted poorly, so I knew the game was there.”

Allen was named the NSIC Golfer of the Week on March 20 after tying for first at the Falcon Lakes Spring Invite on March 15 in Basehor, Kansas. 

The team shot 27-over-par throughout the two rounds of the NSIC preview. Stewart finished second best for the Vikings with rounds of 73 and 76 for a total stroke count of 149. Stewart earned 25 pars throughout the tournament.

The Vikings dominated on par 5s. Allen led the entire tournament in this category, as he averaged 4.38 strokes on par 5s. Meanwhile, junior Emmet Hansen earned an average stroke count of 4.75 when playing par 5s.

“Having the ability to hit longer clubs into the par 5s is a key thing that our team does,” Hansen said. “I think that making sure to miss in the correct spot is key to not making the big numbers.” 

The weather on the course was less than favorable, with cold temps and gusts of wind, but the Vikings competed hard, earning 98 pars, 17 birdies and one eagle throughout the event. 

“The weather played a factor, but everyone in the field had to play in it. It's one of those things that sucks and isn't very fun to play in,” Allen said. “If you have a positive attitude and grind the round out, it provides a great opportunity to jump a lot of guys in the field.” 

The Vikings shot 298 in round one and 305 in round two. 

“What we just do well as a team is we got off the tee well, leading us to have good looks into the greens, especially on the par 5's,” Hansen said.

Allen said the Vikings will build on a good start to the spring, looking for consistency and confidence through the rest of the season.

“We have had rounds where we beat everyone and competed with the top teams. Confidence is the key to playing good golf. We need to keep putting in the hard work and effort that has helped us improve from last year,” Allen said.

The Vikings will be back in action on April 8-9 at Elmwood Golf Course in Sioux Falls for the Augustana Invite.