Lakers Hold Own In Early D-II Test To Begin Season
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Roosevelt men's golf got an early taste of its competition for next season with a 15th-place showing at the Bulldog Classic hosted by Ferris State on Monday and Tuesday at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Mich.
The Lakers were the only non-NCAA Division II team competing at the event, which featured eight of the nine teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the conference Roosevelt will join beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. At the Bulldog Classic, Roosevelt finished ahead of Lake Superior State and just nine shots behind Purdue Northwest in a crowded field.
Thomas Peluchon made an instant impact for the Lakers, leading the team with a 55th-place finish at 19-over par in his first collegiate event. The French international birdied two of his first four holes before closing his first round Monday with three bogeys in the final five holes to card a 6-over 77. He was one shot better in the second round Monday before littering the scorecard with four birdies in Tuesday's final round.
Just one shot behind Peluchon was senior Alvaro Pardo Gutierrez, who tied for 57th position at 20-over over the three rounds. The Spaniard had a rough go of Monday's morning round with a 9-over 80 that featured just one birdie, but he made the most of the afternoon with a 75 that included just five bogeys to one birdie. That seemed to be changing the momentum for Gutierrez, who had birdies to stand 1-over through 11 holes Tuesday before closing with four bogeys and a double in the final seven holes.
Charlie Curtis started his year off with a bang by birdieing the first hole of the tournament, but he had just one birdie over the next 53 holes to finish tied for 79th with a score of 31-over. Matthew Webb finished 90th in his first college event, but ended his experience with a birdie on the second-to-last hole of Tuesday's final round. Veteran Joep Guiting showed massive improvement in the first tournament of the season, finishing at 36-over par with all three rounds at 91 or below.
Roosevelt will next compete Monday and Tuesday at the NAIA Midwest Invite hosted at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.