College Station, Texas – Jack Lundin and Tom Westenberger continued their impressive play to lead the Nebraska men’s golf team to a seventh-place team finish in a loaded 17-team field at the Aggie Invitational on Sunday.
“This was a great team effort and we finished off today with some gritty effort and smart golf,” Nebraska Coach Mark Hankins said. “Very proud of how we continued to play with trust, buy into one shot at a time and keep your head down until the tournament is complete. This is a big golf course that challenged the entire field. We were well prepared, our short games were sharp, and we scratched and clawed our way up the leader board. Tom and Jack played great and earned those top finishes.”
Westenberger used a final-round 73 to produce Nebraska’s best individual finish. The senior from Wuppertal, Germany closed with a career-best 54-hole score of 217 (+1) to tie for sixth individually in the 96-player field. It was Westenberger’s second straight top 10 finish, following his tie for seventh last week at the Hoosier Invitational.
“I definitely felt good all weekend,” Westenberger said. “I just played every shot on every hole how it laid out for me, and just tried to make the best shot I could. I definitely didn’t make as many birdies as I could have, but I kept putting myself in good positions to score on a challenging course.”
Lundin, a freshman from Sioux Falls, S.D., was even better in Sunday’s final round, notching a collegiate career-best 70 (-2) to close with a career-best three-round total of 218 (+2). Lundin just missed his second consecutive top-10 finish as well, tying for 12th week a week after tying for fourth in Indiana. Lundin’s final round featured an eagle on the par-5, 539-yard fifth hole, along with three birdies, 12 pars, one bogey and one double-bogey. He played Sunday’s back nine at 34 (-2).
“I felt like I stayed in control throughout the round today,” Lundin said. “I really only had to make one save with a putt on 17. My eagle on No. 5, which is a very tight driving hole, started with me taking a risk on my first shot and it paid off . A good tee shot left me 175 yards out, and I hit another good shot which left me in great shape for my putt for eagle, which I sank. Overall, I think we competed really well as a team again, but we feel like we can play a lot better, which is a good thing.”
With Lundin and Westenberger leading the charge, Nebraska climbed two spots from ninth to seventh in the final team standings at Texas A&M. The six teams that finished ahead of the Huskers are all ranked among the top-36 teams in the nation in the current GolfStat ratings. The Big Red finished ahead of five other teams ranked in the nation’s top 70, including No. 33 UTSA (11th) by 11 strokes, No. 46 Houston (T9th) by six shots, No. 56 Kansas (8th) by three shots, No. 60 North Texas (T9th) by six strokes and No. 68 UNLV (12th) by 12 strokes.
Nebraska’s final-round 294 (+6) marked its best score of the season, while its 893 tournament total was also a season best.
In addition to the solid Sunday play from Lundin and Westenberger, redshirt freshman Jeremy Sisson (Skaneateles, N.Y.) provided a lift with a consistent round of 74 (+2). Sisson’s final round featured 14 pars, including 11 straight from No. 2 to No. 12, one birdie and three bogeys. He closed with a collegiate career-best three-round total of 228 (+12) to tie for 52nd.
Sophomore Will Marshall (Elburn, Ill.) rounded out Nebraska’s count-four score on Sunday with a 77. He closed with a three-round score of 230 (77-76-77) with all three of his rounds counting toward Nebraska’s team total on the weekend. He tied for 57th individually. Branden Meyer rounded out the Nebraska contingent with a three-round score of 238.
No. 1 Oklahoma and the hosts from No. 12 Texas A&M tied for the team lead at 866 (+2) through three rounds before heading to a playoff to determine the team champion. Texas A&M took the trophy with a win on the first playoff hole.
No. 5 Texas took third at 868 (+4), while No. 25 Texas Tech finished fourth at 873 (+9). No. 36 Baylor rounded out the top five at 876 (+12), while No. 30 Louisville (878, +14) was the only other team to finish ahead of the Huskers.
Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett claimed medalist honors with a three-round score of 210 (-6), one shot ahead of Pierceson Coody from Texas at 211 (-5). The top 11 finishers in the tournament included seven of the top-65 golfers in the nation according to the GolfStat rankings.
Nebraska returns to action next weekend in its lone home event of the season at the Git-R-Done Husker Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club, April 17-18. The 54-hole tournament will feature nine teams teeing off with a shotgun start in two rounds of continuous play on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. The tournament concludes with Sunday’s final round with another shotgun start at 9 a.m.
Aggie Invitational
Traditions Golf Club (College Station, Texas)
Par 72, 7,227 Yards
April 10-11, 2021
Final Team Results
T1. (1) Oklahoma – 290-288-288=866 (+2)
T1. (12) Texas A&M – 290-292-284-=866 (+2)
3. (5) Texas – 283-292-293=868 (+4)
4. (25) Texas Tech – 298-288-287=873 (+9)
5. (36) Baylor – 298-287-291=876 (+12)
6. (30) Louisville – 292-294-292=878 (+14)
7. Nebraska – 298-301-294=893 (+29)
8. (56) Kansas – 303-298-295=896 (+32)
T9. (46) Houston – 295-303-301=899 (+35)
T9. (60) North Texas – 297-301-301=899 (+35)
11. (33) UTSA – 300-303-301=904 (+40)
12. (68) UNLV – 306-305-294=905 (+41)
13. Rice – 300-310-302=912 (+48)
14. New Mexico State – 315-307-303=925 (+61)
15. Lamar – 312-308-306=926 (+62)
16. Northern Illinois – 316-310-306=932 (+68)
17. Prairie View A&M – 341-325-323=989 (+125)
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