SAINT PETER, Minn. - The No. 18 ranked Gustavus Men's Golf team has been selected for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, the NCAA announced on Monday.
The Gusties, who placed second at the MIAC championships, will join the MIAC champions, Bethel, in representing the conference on the national level. Gustavus has not lost to any team in the country since April 4th, when they traveled to the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational and placed 10th out of 35 teams.
Over the last three meets, the same five Gusties have represented the top group. The squad is made up of two seniors, a junior, a sophomore, and a first-year. The seniors,
Chris Gutuza (Johannesburg, South Africa) and
Wyatt Carlson (Wayzata, Minn.), along with junior
Blake Forrest (Maple Grove, Minn.), and sophomore
Jimmy Abdo (Edina, Minn.) have played in 26 rounds this season, the most on the team, while first-year
Kyle Peterson has played in 19, making his debut for the top group at the Twin Cities Classic.
Abdo maintains the lowest scoring average for the Gusties at 73.0 with three top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes, while also being ranked No. 44 individually in Division III. Gutuza sits closely behind, averaging a 73.2 score per round and is No. 57 individually. Carlson and Forrest sit slightly behind at 74.5 and 74.9.
These four played in the NCAA Preview event at the Mission Inn Resort, where the team placed sixth overall. Abdo finished eighth individually with a 70-73-69-212 for a -3 score, while Gutuza was +1, Carlson +3, and Forrest +9. The +10 team score across three days was just eight shots behind first-place, showing the potential this team has in Howey-in-the-Hills.
Forty-three teams and ten individuals not on one of those teams, were selected to participate in the 2026 championships for a total of 225 participants. Thirty-four conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the championships. The final nine berths were at-large selections, which include institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion or independent institutions. The ten individuals are selected from the remaining players who have not qualified with a team.
The championships will be held May 12-15 at Mission Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, and will be hosted by Oglethorpe University and Greater Orlando Sports Commission. The team and individual champions will be determined after 72 holes of play or the conclusion of the last fully completed round. First and second round competition will be played simultaneously on El Campeon and Las Colinas courses with the final two rounds played on El Campeon. After 36 holes of competition, the field will be cut to the top 18 teams and top six individuals not on one of those teams.
