Badgers finish fifth at Gopher Invitational
September 14, 2008 | Men's Golf
Thanks to another solid round on Sunday, the University of Wisconsin men's golf team finished in fifth place at the 2008 Gopher Invitational at the Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata, Minn. It was the team's top finish of the season, surpassing last week 's ninth place finish at the USF Olympic Club Intercollegiate.
Ranked 61st in the country, the Badgers used a seven-over par round of 295 in the third and final round to finish 20-over par for the tournament with an 884 (304-285-295). Texas won the team title in a tiebreaker over LSU with an eight-over 872.
Two Badger golfers finished in a tie for 11th place with a four-over par score of 220.
Senior Dan Woltman (Beaver Dam, Wis.) posted his second consecutive round of a two-under par 70 after posting an opening round of 80. Woltman had a good start as he birdied the first hole, but followed it with a bogey on No. 2. He bounced back though and posted another birdie on the third hole. Five straight pars followed by a bogey on No. 9 gave Woltman an even-par 36 for the front nine. Woltman, who was tied for 33rd entering the final round, continued his pattern of backing up a bogey with a birdie as he birdied No. 10 and then did the same thing on holes 13 and 14. A birdie on No. 16 along with two more pars concluded Woltman's round.
Tying with Woltman was fellow senior Tyler Obermueller (River Falls, Wis.). One day after recording a career-best round of 68, Obermueller posted an even-par 72 to record his best three-round total of the young season. A birdie on No. 3 moved him under par for the day, but Obermueller gave it back with a bogey on the sixth hole. Three more pars gave him an even-par 36 on the front side. Obermueller, tied for 25th after the second round, had to rally in order to post a 36 on the back side. Bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12 put him in a hole, but he responded with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
Junior Jordan Elsen (Kenosha, Wis.) slipped down the leaderboard after recording an eight-over 80 in the final round. Entering the round in a tie for 10th, Elsen finished in a tie for 26th with an eight-over 224 (71-73-80). Elsen dug himself an early hole as he recorded double bogeys on the second and fourth holes. A bogey on No. 6 coupled with three pars gave him a five-over 41 for the front nine. Elsen started the back nine with four straight pars but he posted back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15. After a birdie on the 16th hole, Elsen finished with two more bogeys.
Improving one spot from the second round to the third was senior Danny Zimmerman (Verona, Wis.). He finished in a tie for 34th after ending round two in a tie for 35th by shooting a three-over 75. Zimmerman finished the tournament with a 10-over 226 (77-74-75). Zimmerman started his round par, bogey, birdie, bogey before closing out the front side with five consecutive pars. On the back side, he bogeyed No. 12 before a birdie on No. 14. The 15th hole saw Zimmerman post his fourth bogey of the day but a birdie on the next hole made him just one-over for the day. Two more bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 ended his round.
While Zimmerman moved up a spot, fellow senior Pat Duffy (Appleton, Wis.) dropped one spot in the final round. Duffy finished in a tie for 49th with a 17-over 233 (76-79-78). He put up bogeys on the first and fourth holes and then posted double bogeys on the next two holes. A birdie on No. 8 helped Duffy end his front nine with a five-over 41.The birdie run continued early on the back nine as he notched birdies on Nos. 10 and 12. Bogeys on three of the last five holes gave Duffy a one-over 37 on the back nine.
The men's golf team returns to action next Saturday as they head to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the Wolverine Intercollegiate.
