SAINT PETER, Minn. - The Gustavus men's golf team, who is receiving votes in the most recent Bushnell/Golfweek DIII Coaches Poll competes for the MIAC Championship this weekend. The event will take place at Edinburgh U.S.A. in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The nine men's golf teams from around the conference will begin the three-day, 54-hole conference championship this Saturday, October 10, and crown the MIAC champion on Monday, October 12. This will be the second consecutive season that the MIAC Men's Golf Championships will be played at Edinburgh.

CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

Each MIAC team will enter five players in the tournament, with the program's four best performances each day determining the team's score. The team with the lowest score throughout the tournament will receive the MIAC's automatic qualifier to the 2027 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships.

Gustavus will compete on the first day with Bethel and Carleton based on the 2025 MIAC Men's Golf Championships results and pairings for the final two days will be based on the previous day's results. On both Saturday and Sunday, tee times will start at 10:27 a.m. followed by a 9:33 a.m. start time on Monday for the championship day.

THE GUSTAVUS LINEUP

Sophomore Charlie Looker (Cottage Grove, Minn.) will be playing in the No. 1 spot for Gustavus at the MIAC Championships this weekend. Looker is averaging 74.6 strokes per round, playing in 10 rounds for the Gusties so far this season. His low round this season is a 71, which he has achieved twice. The first came in the first round of the Minnesota Golf Classic at Pioneer Creek, where he used three birdies and a three-under last 11 holes to achieve the score and the second was on the second day of the Twin Cities Classic at Le Sueur Country Club where he shot -2 on the back nine. 

Maltese National Team member and first-year Noah Gratil (Mellieha, Malta) has earned his way onto the MIAC Championship lineup in his first season with a 75.8 scoring average this season and one top-10 finish under his belt. Gratil owns the low round of the season for Gustavus, shooting a 70 on Day 2 of the Twin Cities Classic. Gratil had three birdies and an eagle during his round and shot a 35 on both halves to earn the -2 mark. 

In the No. 3 spot for Gustavus will be sophomore Kyle Peterson (Duluth, Minn.), comes into the event with the second best scoring average for the team this season at 75.2. Peterson has played in four events and 10 rounds for the team and has registered one top-10 finish. Peterson's low round of the season was a 71, which he shot at Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 U.S. Open., during the first day of the Whitworth Invitational. 

The third and final sophomore in the lineup is Ford Finster (Hermosa Beach, Calif.), holding a 75.8 scoring average as well, the same as Gratil. Finster's low round is also a 71, which he shot on the first day of the Twin Cities Classic, playing at Elk River Country Club. Finster had five birdies in the round, including three on his last six holes to shoot -1 and was the leading scorer for the team through the first day. 

MIAC Elite Scholar-Athlete recipient and senior Blake Forrest (Maple Grove, Minn.) rounds out the Gustavus lineup and is the only returner for the Gusties at the MIAC Championships. Forrest was tied for sixth last year at the Championships to earn All-Championship honors, shooting +8 across three days. This season, Forrest has a 77.3 scoring average with a low round of 72, which he has done twice, the second round at the Minnesota Golf Classic and the second round at the Twin Cities Classic.

Gustavus averages 300.8 strokes as a team every round which means each scoring player is averaging 75.2 strokes. 

FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE GUSTIES

Spectators are welcome to attend the 2026 MIAC Golf Championships at the Edinburgh Golf Course and must follow all local and spectator rules. Please be advised that there will be no spectator carts available for use at Edinburgh.

Fans not in attendance in Brooklyn Park can follow the unofficial live scoring on Scoreboard powered by Clippd.

The MIAC has a championship home page for the event that will serve as the online home of the tournament. The championship page will include tee times, pairings, and results as they become available, as well as recaps and photos.

STATE OPEN EXEMPTION

Edinburgh USA is set to host the 2027 Minnesota State Open in July 2027 and has been granted a Minnesota PGA exemption that will be awarded to the individual medalist at the 2026 MIAC Men's Golf Championships. This is a one-time exemption for an amateur competitor to participate in Minnesota's biggest and most prestigious Open tournament. In the event of a tie for first place on the MIAC individual leaderboard, an individual playoff will take place following NCAA championship protocol to determine the recipient of the State Open exemption. The tied participants will play one extra hole at a time, with those still tied for the lowest score moving on to the next hole until a winner has been determined.