Huskers Take Third in Indiana

Bloomington, Ind. – Freshman Jack Lundin notched the first top-five finish of his collegiate career and Tom Westenberger added his first top-10 finish as a Husker to lead the Nebraska men’s golf team to a solid third-place finish at the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational on Sunday.

Lundin shot a 75 (+4) for the second straight round on the par-71, 7,432-yard layout at The Pfau Course to close with a collegiate career-best tournament score of 221 (+8) to tie for fourth individually. Lundin’s opening-round 71 on Saturday was also a career best for the newcomer from Sioux Falls, S.D., playing in just his second career collegiate stroke play tournament.

Lundin said he was happy to get his first top-five finish, and added that the knowledge he gained from his second tournament would be key to applying to the future.

“It feels pretty good to get my first top-five finish, but knowing that I didn’t play my best golf makes me even hungrier for the next tournament,” Lundin said. “I was pretty happy with where I was mentally and with my focus from shot to shot, but I think I learned a lot about some key elements like managing my nutrition on a 36-hole day and those kinds of things, which is only going to help me and our team as we continue this season.”

Westenberger, a second-year Husker from Wuppertal, Germany, added a 74 (+3) for the second consecutive round to finish in a tie for seventh at 223 (+10). His 54-hole total was his best as a Big Red golfer, as he notched his first top-10 finish at Nebraska. His previous career-best tournament showing came with a tie for 14th at the Maridoe Intercollegiate last season.

“Finally, it feels good to get a top-10 finish. It’s been a long time coming,” Westenberger said. “I felt like I was in control and steady for three rounds. I didn’t make as many putts as I could have, which would have put me and the team in even better positions, but I feel like our work is paying off. We know we could all be better, but we are seeing the improvement and we know we are just going to keep learning and doing even better.” 

Nebraska Coach Mark Hankins said he was proud of the focus and toughness that both Lundin and Westenberger showed in producing their first top-10 finishes as Huskers.

“I’m really proud of Jack in getting his first top-five finish,” Hankins said. “He was up and down today, but he was resilient and put together three solid rounds for us to earn his tie for fourth. I was also really impressed with Tom’s focus and confidence for three full rounds. He hit it great and worked his way around a challenging course to tie for seventh.” 

Nebraska was bolstered on Sunday by a 72 (+1) for Will Marshall. The sophomore from Elburn, Ill., carded Nebraska’s best round of the day to climb 12 spots on the individual leader board into a tie for 39th at 232 in the 60-player field. 

Branden Meyer (Gilbert, Ariz.) completed Nebraska’s count-four scoring on Sunday with a final-round 77 (+6) to tie for 32nd overall at 230. Meyer joined Lundin and Westenberger in having all three of his rounds count toward NU’s team score for the tournament.

Redshirt freshman Jeremy Sisson managed a 79 on Sunday that did not count toward NU’s team score, but his opening-round 73 was a key in Nebraska’s 296 to start the tournament. Sisson finished in a tie with Marshall in 39th at 232.

Nebraska’s final-round 298 team score was enough to secure third place as a team in the nine-team field with an 897 (296-303-298). The Huskers finished just five strokes back of the hosts from Indiana, as the Hoosiers took second. NU matched the tournament champs stroke-for-stroke on Sunday, as the Spartans also shot a 298 in the final round to finish at 885. Nebraska’s opening-round 296 was two shots better than MSU, but the Spartans followed with the best team round in the tournament with a 289 in the second round on Saturday.

“We really put in the work this past week in preparation, and it paid off in a great start,” Hankins said. “We lost some focus in round two and three, but stayed tough and made up some real ground to push for a runner-up finish this afternoon. We’re pleased with our third-place team finish, even though we know we didn’t play our best golf.”

The Huskers held off fourth-place Memphis (901) by four strokes and fifth-place Cincinnati (903) by six shots, while Big Ten rivals Minnesota (6th, 904) and Michigan (7th, 905) finished behind the Big Red in the field.

Nebraska returns to action this coming weekend at the Aggie Invitational at the Traditions Club in College Station, Texas (April 9-11).