NEW PRAGUE, Minn. – The Gustavus men's golf team completed its final round of the annual Bobby Krig Invite on Saturday, April 19, taking first in the field of 15 teams with an 869 (+25) and the best round of the day on Saturday by seven shots.

First-year Jimmy Abdo claimed the top spot with a three-round four-over par 215. His final line was 72-70-73-215. The Gusties fielded 13 athletes in the tournament with two teams and three individuals. The second team finished eighth, while Blake Forrest led the three individuals. 

Of the 11 schools participating, two were featured in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches' Top 25 poll in No. 19 UW-Eau Claire and No. 25 Saint John's. Two appeared in the Scoreboard by clippd National Collegiate Golf Rankings Top 25, including the No. 22 Blugolds, as well as No. 24 Southwestern Community College (Iowa). The Gusties (No. 34) were joined by SJU (No. 30), Bethel (No. 33), and Carleton (No. 35) in the latest national standings. 

Abdo (Fy., Edina, Minn.) moved up one spot after Friday's first two rounds on the back of a birdie and a two-shot eagle, carding 11 pars in the final 18 holes of the tournament. Junior Chris Gutuza (Johannesburg, South Africa) remained in second Saturday with a four-birdie round that featured seven pars for a three-over 74. He shared the spot on the leaderboard with Pelayo Perez Crespo (Jr., Sotogrande, Spain), who jumped up five spots Saturday. Other than one double bogey on hole four, his third of the day, Perez Crespo shot even or better for his other 17, including two birdies to make up the difference on 11 and 12. The junior finished with an even 71 in the final round. 

In the final home tournament of their careers, Jack Reinardy (Sr., Andover, Minn.) carded a trio of birdies to shoot 73 at New Prague and move up 14 spots to No. 12 and Teddy Kaste (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) jumped 11 spots to finish 15th with a 74. Kaste added three birdies alongside 10 pars to round out the Gustavus "A" team, which finished with a 291-287-291-869.

"Big win today for the guys! Sure was fun to have all five guys on our top team play well," said head coach Scott Moe '95. "In a very strong field, to have the top three guys individually is pretty special. We took advantage of our opportunities and minimized our mistakes. We wanted to get a big win this year, and it's been a long time since we've won our home event. It feels good and I'm very happy for the guys for how hard they have worked and battled since last fall, great to get a victory. Congratulations to Jimmy [Abdo] on his first win."

The second Gustie team finished eight overall, ahead of four varsity MIAC teams. Aradheea Gawade (Fy., Mumbai, India) led the squad on day two with a 74 and three birdies, while Tommy Hiniker (5th, Edina, Minn.) was the highest finisher of the group in 17th. Hiniker shot a 76 on Saturday with two birdies. Both Wyatt Carlson (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) and Caleb McBee (Sr., Glendale, Ariz.) finished tied for 47th after a Saturday 78, while Cameron Longie (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) posted a 79 for 43rd overall.

Forrest (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) was the highest individual finisher, dropping three spots after the first two rounds with a six-over 77. Forrest carded a pair of birdies and nine pars. Cole Paulson (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) carded a two-shot eagle on his third hole of the day, finishing 46th with an 81, while Tomas Rohrborn (Sr., Santiago, Chile) posted a 77 in his final round.

"It was really cool to have a lot of spectators and family members this weekend," Moe continued. "Pelayo [Perez Crespo] had family in from Spain, Caleb [McBee]'s family was in from Arizona, and a ton of other families from our local players were here. Special weekend!

The men's golf team competes next weekend at Saint John's annual tournament, the SJU Spring Invitational, Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27. Saturday's competition begins at 10:30 a.m. at Wapicada Golf Club (par 72), followed by a 10 a.m. shotgun on Sunday at Monticello Country Club (par 71).