The Kansas State men’s golf team put together its third-consecutive round of under-par golf on Tuesday, while senior Nicklaus Mason posted another round in the 60s as each recorded wire-to-wire victories at the Wildcat Invitational held at the par-72, 7,525-yard Colbert Hills Golf Course.
The Wildcats posted their third-consecutive victory on their home course as they recorded a three-round total of 14-under par 850 to earn a 16-stroke win. K-State held a five-shot lead entering the final round but turned in a score of 5-under par 283 to separate from Jacksonville State.
Mason tallied his first-collegiate individual championship at 11-under par 205 thanks to a score of 3-under par 69 on Tuesday. His three-round total of 205 tied for the lowest competitive 54-hole score by a Wildcat at Colbert Hills and tied for 15th overall in school history.
Another senior, Cooper Schultz, put together one of the best rounds in school history on Tuesday by firing an 8-under par 64 as he climbed 27 spots on the leaderboard to tie for second place. It tied for the third-lowest round in school history, while it was the lowest competitive round by a Wildcat ever at Colbert Hills.
“I am really proud of our team and how they competed this week,” said head coach Grant Robbins, who guided K-State to its eighth tournament title during his tenure, in a written statement. “The course setup and conditions today were very difficult, and I thought we played some pretty solid golf. I am really proud of Nick for going wire to wire in securing his first win and was glad to see Cooper bounce back in such a big way. It was a great team win as we got contributions from everyone. The schedule gets a bit tougher now, so we just have to keep working and getting better.”
A native of Shawnee, Kansas, Mason went under par in all three rounds as he totaled 14 birdies and two eagles over the three rounds. Schultz, who started final-round play on No. 3, was 9-under par through 16 holes as he finished just two shots shy of tying the school record. He played the back 9 bogey free and 6-under par with four birdies and an eagle-2 on No. 15.
In addition to Mason and Schultz, K-State also received top-10 finishes from four other players in seniors Ian McCrary, Kobe Valociek and JP Roller in addition to freshman Fionn Dobbin. McCrary and Roller paced the K-State ‘B’ squad, which finished in third place at 6-over par 870.
McCrary tied for fourth place, his best finish as a Wildcat and tied for the best in his collegiate career as he also tied for fourth place in 2022 while playing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Overland Park, Kansas, native concluded the event at 1-under par 215, his second-best 54-hole score as a Wildcat.
Valociek, a transfer from Virginia Tech, went even-par for the tournament to finish in seventh place, while Roller and Dobbin tied for 10th place at 2-over par 218. Roller turned in a 1-under par 71 in each of his final two rounds, while Dobbin went 1-over par 73 in two of his three rounds this week.
Freshman Tyler Strong jumped 12 spots on the final day to finish his first collegiate tournament in a tie for 13th place at 4-over par 220. Following a round of 76 to begin the event, the Olathe, Kansas, product came back with consecutive rounds of even-par 72 to earn the top-15 finish.
Sophomore Harry Bent finished in a tie for 17th place at 5-over par 221, while junior Alex Lindstrom rose nine spots on the final day to tie for 20th place at 6-over par 222. Freshman Erik Sableström Holmberg tied for 30th place with a three-round total of 9-over par 225.
The Wildcats are off next week before they compete in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, September 30-October 2, held at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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