HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - The No. 18 ranked Gustavus men's golf team finished their season today at the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship, making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2022. 

Seniors Chris Gutuza (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Wyatt Carlson (Wayzata, Minn.) ended their college careers with the top two scores for the Gusties, while first-year Kyle Peterson (Duluth, Minn.) and junior Blake Forrest (Maple Grove, Minn.) also contributed towards the team score. 

Gutuza led the team with a +4 (75), going +2 on each nine at Las Colinas. The South African had multiple stretches of pars and kept himself in the round, but could not find any birdies to make up for the four bogeys across the 18 holes. 

Carlson was just one shot behind at +5 (76), starting with two bogeys before a +1 last six holes kept him at +3 through nine holes. Carlson found three more bogeys on the back nine of the day, which was the front nine at Las Colinas, but also found a birdie in between those three, keeping him at +5 for the day. 

Peterson bounced back after not scoring on Day 1, going +6 (77) on the day. After sitting at +7 through 12 holes, the Duluth native played consistent golf to end the season, using five pars and a bogey on his 18th hole of the day to slide down one spot. The 37 on the front nine at Las Colinas was tied for the best nine-hole score of the day at just +2. 

The last scorer was Forrest, who was +8 (79) on the day with a 38 on the back nine on the course, which was the front nine of the day, but the last nine holes bit Forrest, especially the first four holes. The junior was plagued by a +7 four-hole span, but bounced back promptly with two birdies on the next three holes. 

"We had a game plan together that we thought would work today" said head coach Scott Moe. "The guys were composed and ready at the start of the round. We just were not able to execute like we had planned. The golf course sets up for some target shots and if you miss those, you get penalized. I don't want the results of this event to deter from the success of our season. Very proud of how we competed in our events late in the year to secure our spot at nationals and the opportunity to compete here in Florida. We leave the championship not the way we wanted to, but we do leave with our head held high, knowing that we gave everything we could this week. Thank you to the NCAA staff for putting on a great championship". 

The No. 18 ranked men's golf team ends with five wins this season, starting at the Minnesota Classic and the Twin Cities Classic in the fall. The team won three events in a row heading into the NCAA Championships, where the team finished 29th of 43 overall.