Lakers Close Strong at Wolf Pack Spring Invitational
NEW ORLEANS – Roosevelt men's golf battled tough course conditions and a competitive field at the Wolf Pack Spring Invitational to finish fifth out of six teams entered at English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday.
Alvaro Pardo Gutierrez finished in a tie for seventh place at 14-over par to lead the Lakers while Jared Tjelmeland was right behind him in ninth place two shots back. Charlie Curtis shot 31-over to finish in a tie for 23rd while Joep Guiting finished 53rd of the 54 competitors after shooting a career-best +11 in the final round.
Gutierrez came out of the gates strong Monday with a 2-over 74 in the opening round, highlighted by two birdies in the opening 18. In the second round of the day, the sophomore added two more birdies, but a tough stretch of a double bogey and three bogeys on holes six through nine sank his round and he finished with a 77. Gutierrez doubled his score in Tuesday's final round by shooting a 79 after closing the front nine with five bogeys in a six-hole stretch.
Tjelmeland had a rough day on the course Monday with rounds of 78 and 84, cancelling out seven birdies in the first 36 holes with nine pars and six double bogeys or worse in the two rounds. Yet the junior was on a mission Tuesday after opening the round with a birdie en route to a clean 2-under round of 70 that featured four birdies and just two bogeys. The Ely, Iowa native was one of just four players to card at least 10 birdies in the event as he rocketed up the leaderboard for a top-10 finish.
Curtis never was able to find his rhythm on the par-4s with all three of his rounds finishing in the 80's, but he showed his class on the shorter and longer holes. He and Tjelmeland were two of the three players who played the par-3s at even par or better and Curtis also played the par-5s at even par with three of his five birdies coming on those holes.
Dominance on the par-3s and par-5s was a staple of the Lakers lineup in New Orleans as Roosevelt led the field by shooting +12 on the par-3s and was second best on the par-5s at just +9. In addition to Curtis shooting even par on the par-5s, Gutierrez also shot even par on those four holes while Tjelmeland actually shot 2-under on the longer holes in the event.
For its next tournament, Roosevelt will head south to Kankakee Elks Country Club in St. Anne on March 24 and 25 for the Tiger Spring Invitational.