WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The North Dakota State men's golf team opened up the Zach Johnson Invitational on Monday, Sept. 25, by posting a -15 through two rounds at Glen Oaks Country Club to sit in second place.
The Bison carded rounds of 275 and 278 on the first day, to join leaders Iowa State in running away from the remainder of the 13-team field. NDSU trails Iowa State by five shots, but the Bison are nine shots ahead of DePaul in third place and 17 strokes ahead of South Dakota in fourth.
Gavin Cronkhite led the way for the Bison on day one, shooting a season best round for NDSU and matching a career best with a 66 in the opening round. Cronkhite then backed it up with a 69 in the second round to sit in a tie for second at -7, three shots behind individual leader Luke Gutschewski of Iowa State. Cronkhite had 10 birdies on the day, with five in each round. He carded a bogey free round to open the event.
With identical round scores of 69 and then 70, Bison golfers
Nate Adams and
Josh Galvin sit in a tie for sixth overall at -3 after two rounds on the par-71 course. Galvin matched Cronkhite and had 10 birdies on the day, while Adams added eight more.
Wrapping up the scoring in both rounds for NDSU was
Jack Johnson, who shot a 71 and then a 69 to sit at -2 heading into the final 18 holes on Tuesday in a tie for 11th. Johnson had nine birdies on the afternoon, including a team best six in the second round.
Jake Skarperud and
Beck Erholtz rounded out the day for the Bison, sitting in 25
th and 28
th, respectively, in the 75-golfer field. Skarperud carded rounds of 74 and 70 to sit at +2. Erholtz shot a 75 and then a 71 to sit at +4.
The Bison will wrap up the Zach Johnson Invitational on Tuesday, with the final round set to begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
