GOODYEAR, Ariz. – North Dakota State men's golf set multiple program records on Tuesday, claiming the Loyola Intercollegiate team title by 15 shots, while
Jake Skarperud also claimed the individual medalist honors at the Palm Valley Golf Club.
The Bison shot a -14 round of 274 on the third and final day, pulling away from the field to finish at -40, breaking the school record for a 54-hole tournament by 14 shots. The previous best team total for 54 holes was a -26 set at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate on October 20-22, 2019.
Skarperud, who shot a 65 and 71 in the first two rounds, fired a 66 on the final day to finish the event at -14, moving up four spots to win the event by two strokes over fellow Bison,
Nate Adams. With his first collegiate victory, Skarperud also broke the individual 54-hole tournament scoring record of -13, previously held by Adams and
Nate Deziel.
Skarperud wrapped up the event with a bogey-free round, starting the day with back-to-back birdies. After three pars, the sophomore had a birdie before three more pars to close the front nine. On the back nine, Skarperud added another birdie on hole 11 and then an eagle on 14. He finished the round with four-straight pars to move to the top of the leaderboard.
Adams had four birdies on the front nine and added a fifth on 14, but would bogey three of the last four to finish with a -2 round of 70 to wrap his event in second place at -12.
Gavin Cronkhite would have the second-best round of the day for the Bison, carding a 67 with five birdies and an eagle in his round.
Jack Johnson rounded out the scoring for the Bison in round three, shooting his second-straight -1 round of 71 with two birdies and 15 pars. Johnson would also move up the leaderboard and finished in a tie for 20
th overall.
Ian Simonich finished in a tie for 33
rd after concluding the event with a 74. Simonich finished at -2 overall. Playing as an individual,
Josh Galvin carded a 73 in the final round and finished at -1, in a tie for 42
nd.
The 274 in the final round for NDSU was six shots better than any other team in the field. It was also the best round of the season for NDSU, besting 275, which had been done three times, including in rounds one and two this week.
Tuesday's victory for the Bison is the first this season. Northern Colorado and Loyola Maryland finished tied for second overall (-25) in the 20-team event. South Dakota State (T17, +5) was the closest Summit League program at the Loyola Intercollegiate.
