Iowa Westen Wins Bethany Spring Classic!
Newton, KS – Iowa Western Men's Golf picked up their first tournament win of the spring season at the Bethany College Spring Classic. The event was held April 7th and 8th at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kansas.
On Monday, the teams played 36 holes which made up rounds 1 and 2. The Reivers took advantage of a calm round 1 and found themselves at the top of the leaderboard after posting a 4 over par 292. It was good enough to take a 7 shot lead into the afternoon round over second place and NJCAA #10 North Idaho. Teams found the wind pick up during the second round, Iowa Western played steady and posted a 296 while second place North Idaho closed the gap from seven strokes to four strokes as the teams were set for Tuesday's final round.
The Reivers were paced in scoring for round 1 by freshman Ethan Main who fired 2-under par 70. Following him was freshman Sam Wells at 1-over par 73, sophomore Bowdie Fox was 2-over par 74, and sophomore Ryan Linglebach closed out the team scoring with 3-over par 75. Round 2 scoring was led by Fox with an even par round of 72, Lingelbach was 2-over par 74, sophomore Greg Lewis got into the scoring with a 2-over par 74, and Wells completed round 2 team scoring at 4-over par 76.
Tuesday's final round saw sustained winds of 15mph with gusts into the mid 20's. Iowa Western saw steady play throughout the day, as their four-stroke advantage grew throughout the day. The Reivers eventually pulled away with a 20-stroke victory after carding a team score of 292. Highlighting the scoring for the Reivers was Lingelbach's career low round, he went bogey free and fired a sizzling 6-under par 66, followed by Fox's 2-over par 74, Main posted 4 over par 76, and Wells would also post 4-over par 76. Linglebach's 66 would complete a come from behind individual championship, and Fox was rewarded with a t4 finish for his efforts.
Iowa Western brought 8 players to the tournament. Seven of the eight Reivers finished in the top 14 in the field of 53 competitors. Six of those players were in the top 9 individually. Iowa Western is back in action next week April 14th and 15th at the Howl at the Hill hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE.