NEWTON, Kan. –
Nate Deziel set a North Dakota State men's golf postseason scoring record with a 65 (-7) on Sunday to lead NDSU to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the Summit League Championship at Sand Creek Station Golf Course.
Deziel carded eight birdies in the opening round, including five straight between holes nine and 13, to take the lead after 18 holes. The junior holds a two-shot lead in the individual standings and is one of three Bison in the top five.
Deziel shot the lowest round ever by a Summit League golfer in six championships competed at the Sand Creek Station Golf Course. His 65 tied him for the third lowest championship round all-time.
The previous NDSU record for a postseason round was 66 by Eric Johnson at the 2003 North Central Conference Championship. In the Division I era, the Bison record is 67, done five times in the Summit League championships, including by Deziel in 2019.
Lucas Johnson was the most recent 67, scoring it in the second round of last season's championship.
Brock Winter and
Nate Adams also had strong days for the Bison as the two finished the first round in a tie for fourth after -3 rounds of 69. After a bogey, birdie, double bogey to start the day, Winter was mistake free the rest of the way as he carded five birdies and 10 pars over the final 15 holes.
Adams had two birdies but was +1 through the front nine. However, Adams birdied five of the next seven holes to get to -4. He would finish the round with a bogey and par.
Ian SImonich rounded out the scoring for the Bison on day one as the freshman finished with a +1 round of 73. Simonich had four birdies, including one on the final hole to move into a tie for 23
rd overall in the 50-golfer field.
The Bison team score of 276 (-12) on Sunday also set a school postseason record. It is the fourth best team score for a single round in program history and also the second-best score for a single round by any Summit League team since the Bison joined the Summit League and began competing in the event in 2006.
The 276 is the best score by a team in the Summit League Championship since the event began getting hosted at Sand Creek Station in 2016. The previous record was a 279 by Denver in the second-round last season.
North Dakota State will carry a five-shot lead over Denver into day two. Oral Roberts and South Dakota State are tied for third, six shots back. The Bison are set to begin teeing off at 8:20 a.m. Monday morning.
