LE SUEUR, Minn. - The No. 23 ranked Gustavus men's golf team got back in the win column on Sunday, taking the Bobby Krig Invite by 15 shots in a field of 16 teams. Head Coach Scott Moe scheduled 36 holes for the second day of competition, which meant nine hours of competition in a meet where the home course advantage proved important for the Gusties. 

Three student-athletes landed in the top 10 for Gustavus, led by sophomore Jimmy Abdo (Edina, Minn.) in second, followed by senior Chris Gutuza (Johannesburg, South Africa) in seventh and junior Blake Forrest (Maple Grove, Minn.) in eighth. 

In the first meet of the season, good scores came about, but they were split amongst the top and 'B' group, which meant suboptimal scores. This week, the top five all finished either T16 or above at the meet, meaning the best score possible for the group.

"Yesterday we really put ourselves in position" said Moe. "36 holes today was a very long battle and difficult conditions. Our goal was to try and stay in it mentally for 9 and a half hours and I think we did a really good job. We didn't have the best start for our afternoon round today, but instead of panicking we buckled down and really finished well which is extremely important heading down the stretch. We had some really strong play from a number of players, three guys in the top 10 in this field is fantastic. Now we go back to work to prepare for the St. John's tournament, another deep field. We will need to be ready to battle again. Super proud of all 12 of our guys for the way they carried themselves and represented their teammates and the college.

Round 2

In Round 2, Abdo led with his lowest score of the tournament on 18 holes with a -2 (69). This included a three-under front nine which held an eagle on the par-five fifth to help him launch into first place through two rounds. Gutuza also shot -2 (69), going with a more rollercoaster effort, finding six birdies including four on the back nine in pairs of two in a row. Forrest and senior Wyatt Carlson (Wayzata, Minn.) were the final two who found their way to the scoresheet on the first 18, both firing +3 (74) scores. Overall, the group went +2, while the closest competitor was No. 33 Carleton, shooting +4, but a +25 in Round 1 pushed them away from contention.

For the 'B' group, sophomore Aradheea Gawade (Mumbai, India) and senior Pelayo Perez Crespo (Sotogrande, Spain) were the top scorers, both shooting 38-38-76 (+5) scores on the first 18 holes of the day. First-years Zach Havron (Lakeville, Minn.) and Ford Finster (Hermosa Beach, Minn.) also scored for the team, shooting a +7 (78) and +8 (79), respectively. Fellow first-year classmate Charles Looker (Cottage Grove, Minn.) had a stellar round as an individual, going +3 (74) including an even-par back nine. 

Round 3

The final round of the tournament was a +5 mark for the Gusties, this time calling on different players to find scoring. Forrest had the top score, shooting a -1 (70) which helped move him up eight spots into eighth place by the end of the tournament. First-year Kyle Peterson (Duluth, Minn.) shot +1 (72) along with Carlson to help keep the group comfortably in the lead. Abdo rounded off the scoring, going +4 (75), which was held back by a pair of double bogeys on Holes 2 and 3. The group finished at +19 and +7 across the final two rounds, which was five shots better than yesterday's 18 holes. 

Perez Crespo was the top scorer for the 'B' group on the last 18, which included five birdies for a 40-32-72 (+1) score. Gawade finished at +5 (76), moving him down eight spots into 16th, to end at +11. Both Finster and Havron matched scores again, both walking off of Le Sueur CC with a +9 (80) in the afternoon round. Looker led the individuals with a +6 (77) final round, which placed him down in 24th overall at +13. 

The No. 23 ranked Gusties return to action on Saturday, traveling to central Minnesota for the Saint John's Spring Invite.