Staff Writer- Alayna Boe
On September 6th and 7th, the Gustavus men’s golf team headed to Pioneer Golf Course (Maple Plain, MN) to play in the Minnesota Golf Classic. Bethel University hosted this meet, and the Gusties faced ten other top teams, coming out on top. The Gusties had a rough start in round one, with a score of +21 and a rank of 12th place, but they persisted. Each round got better, and round three was the best by far, with a score of -14. This score of -14 is a new program record for the Gustavus men’s golf team and trumps the previous record set in the 2021 MIAC Championship. This third round score was led by Senior Christopher Gutuza, who scored a -9 in the final round. Overall, the Gusties team had a final score of +6 to end the weekend and take home the winning title of the Minnesota Golf Classic.
Round one was led by Sophomore Jimmy Abdo, Junior Blake Forrest, and Christopher Gutuza for the Gustavus team, with scores of +4, +4, and +5, respectively. This was a rougher start for the men than they probably would have liked, but it did not hinder their performances the rest of the weekend.
The second round was led by First-year Sam LaFrenz. Lafrenz had placed fifth among the Gustie men in round one, so this was a good improvement in his score and rank among the team. Forrest tied him with a -1 score for the round, and Gutuza came out of the round even with par. Abdo trailed behind in fourth on the team with a +1 finish for round two.
The Gustie men showed what they were really capable of in the third and final round of the Minnesota Golf Classic. Gutza led the team with a -9 for the round, but he was not the only one to improve. Abdo and LaFrenz were behind him with scores of -2, and Senior Wyatt Carlson was not far behind them. Carlson shot a -1 for the round, and it was his best performance of the tournament.
All in all, the Gustavus men’s golf team had a record-breaking performance over the weekend and took home the victory. The Gustavus men led the tournament by six strokes and had a final score of +6. Bethel University was the closest team to the Gusties with a final score of +12.
Looking into specific players, Gutza performed the best this weekend with a total score of -4. I asked him some questions via an email interview, and he talked about his experience over the weekend. During the first round, he was hitting the ball well, but just could not score, so for the second round, he talked with Coach Moe, thus improving his game in the second and third rounds. For the second round, Gutza took a less aggressive approach to his game, besides a risky putt that ended up going in for birdie. In the second round, he shot an even 72. Now, with the third round, he showed what he is truly capable of. Gutza set a new record for the best single-round score in Gustavus History. The previous record was -7, set in 1992, and has been matched three times since then. Gutza, however, shot a -9 in the third and final round of this tournament, making him the new record holder for Gustavus Adolphus College. He stated, “63 is my lowest round and the lowest in college history, but records are meant to be broken. I want to be number one for a while, so I will want to break it again.” Gutza is ambitious about being the record holder and will work hard to keep his spot at the top. He also mentioned the secondary team and his excitement for the season. “Special shout-out to Sam and the gold team. The team shot the lowest ever, and Sam played really well as a freshman. Looking forward to a great year!” Another exceptional member of this team is Abdo. Abdo scored a +3 as his final for the weekend in Maple Plain, MN. Abdo is a sophomore here at Gustavus and competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship this summer, hosted at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. This tournament lasted from August 11-17, and Abdo fought his way through until the quarterfinals. He went into this tournament ranked No. 4292 for golf amateurs in the world, but that did not make him doubt his abilities. He ended up in the top eight of the tournament and proved that he did belong there and could compete with some of the best.
The Gustavus men’s golf team will head to Eau Claire and compete in the Frank Wrigglesworth Invite on September 14th and 15th. Go Gusties!