With the Ryder Cup coming up, the sport of golf is on many Minnesotan’s minds. As for the Gustavus golf teams, the fall has been a successful one.

“We have had great opportunities thus far to compete against nationally ranked teams in Kentucky and Florida. We have also played well in conference competition.” — Chris Captain

Both the men’s and women’s teams have had strong performances in their fall seasons and look to carry their momentum into the MIAC Championships in early October and bring home a couple of conference titles.

After traveling to the states of Kentucky and Florida earlier this fall, the men’s team hosted the Twin Cities Classic this past weekend in Le Sueur, MN. The team finished second out of a 16 team field. It was a total team effort to obtain this result. A standout performer throughout the season has been Junior Chris Captain. Captain, who is a two-time All-Conference award winner, has posted multiple low scores and has helped lead the Gusties to the success they have found this season.

“We have had great opportunities thus far to compete against nationally ranked teams in Kentucky and Florida. We have also played well in conference competition at Eau Claire and the Twin Cities Classic, finishing 2nd in both of those tournaments. We hope to continue to play our best golf next weekend in the MIAC Conference tournament,” Captain said.

As for the women’s team, there have been multiple strong performances, as well. A highlight of their season includes a first place finish at the Eau Claire Invitational.

“We are starting to come together and post some consistent rounds,” Head Coach Scott Moe said on behalf of the women’s team. Moe, who coaches both the men’s and women’s teams, is excited about the depth of the women’s team.

“Once we get all five players posting decent scores, we can compete. We look for that depth to help out at the MIAC tourney.” — Coach Moe

“Once we get all five players posting decent scores, we can compete. We look for that depth to help out at the MIAC tourney,” Head Coach Moe said. One of those five players is Junior McKenzie Swenson, who hopes to keep her play more consistent in the latter part of the season.

“I had a decent start at our first tournament at Blackberry Ridge, but after that I had some tough rounds. My swing was not where I wanted it to be. After our tournament in Indiana, I made a change to my swing, practiced it that week and played well this weekend. I’m proud of the way I bounced back after a couple of rocky weekends,” Swenson said.

As Gustie golfers prepare for their final tournament of their fall season, they have the opportunity to achieve a large team goal. This goal is a bid to the NCAA Championships in the springtime.

“Both teams have one tournament left, the MIAC Championships. An automatic qualifier spot is on the line. The winning team guarantees a spot at the NCAA Championships in the spring,” Head Coach Moe said.

The teams hope to achieve this goal and bring home a Conference Title. This final tournament of the fall season takes place on October 8-10 for both the men and women, and Head Coach Moe hopes to see some student support at the very important meet.

“Golf can actually be fun to watch. It would be awesome to get some students up to Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids next weekend to cheer on the Gusties. They have worked very hard and very seldom get fans other than family members, some student support would be awesome,” Head Coach Moe said.

The Gusties look forward to the conference meet and are ready to capitalize on the opportunity of obtaining an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.