FARGO, N.D. – Senior
Jake Skarperud holds a three-stroke lead after the first round of the North Dakota State men's golf dual against North Dakota on Wednesday afternoon at the Fargo Country Club.
Battling extremely windy conditions, Skarperud (69) started the round with a bogey but quickly followed it up with five birdies and eight pars across the next 13 holes. Skarperud was -2 through on front nine and -1 on the back nine to finish -3 overall.
Skarperud was the lone golfer below par in the first round, with Carson Skarperud (72) and Kagan Kollar (72) of North Dakota ending the day in a tie for second at even-par.
Gabe Benson (74) notched four birdies on the day and nine holes at par to finish +2 overall and sits in a tie for fourth heading into the final round.
Rylin Petry (76) carded two birdies and ten pars to finish +4 on the day and sit in a tie for seventh.
Andrew Ballou (79) was the final scorer for the Bison after the first round, as the freshman finished +7 to sit in 11
th heading into the final round on Thursday.
Max Wilson (80),
Carter Spalding (80),
Joey Mackinac (80), and
Carter White (80) wrapped up the Bison at the event and are all sitting in a four-way tie for 12
th at +8. Spalding, Mackinac, and White are all playing in the dual as individuals.
NDSU (298) sits just one stroke behind rival North Dakota (297) heading into the final round of the event.
The Bison will conclude the dual on Thursday, playing the final 18 holes up north at the Grand Forks Country Club. Tee times are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT, with each group starting in 10-minute intervals.
