In the second tournament of their spring season, the Pioneer men’s golf team tied for 13th place at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate Golf Course held at Leilehua Golf Course in Hawaii last week. The team ended the tournament with a 54-hole total of 870, finishing 36 strokes behind tournament champion, Brigham Young University.
Freshman Espen Kofstad finished at the top of DU’s ranks during the three-day tournament, continuing his strong play from the fall by shooting a 2-over par 74 during the final round Friday.
Kofstad finished the tournament 3-under par, placing him in a tie for 21st place. Ending only 10 strokes behind winner Frank Wrenn of Southern Methodist University, Kofstad ended the tournament with 54-hole score of 213.
Kofstad is currently ranked 3rd on the DU team, with an average score of 73 after playing 17 rounds during his first season at DU.
Other strong Pioneers included sophomore Jeff Koprivetz, who finished in a tie for 52nd place at a 3-over par 219 and senior Charlie Soule. Soule showed signs of regaining his form after struggling during the fall season, shooting a 76 during Friday’s final round and tying for 63rd with fellow Pioneer, Chris Gilman. Gilman shot the best score Friday, ending the day with a 73.
Soule is top-ranked on the DU team, shooting an average of 72.70 after seven tournaments this year.
DU started well on Wednesday, ending the opening round tied for sixth place with a 1-under par score of 287.Kofstad and Koprivetz finished round one tied for 15th place, coming in with a 2-under par 70.
Round two saw an improvement for the Pioneers, who ended Thursday in a tie for 5th place. The team shot its second consecutive round under par, finishing with a 2-under par 286 score.
Falling during Friday’s play, the Pioneers finished 6 over-par.
BYU won the tournament after managing to overcome a 10-shot deficit Friday to just beat second-place finishers, University of Nevada – Las Vegas. They ended the tournament 30-under par.
The Pioneers placed second during the first tournament of the spring season, finishing 11-under par at the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational earlier this month. Looking to improve its record, the team can next be seen playing at the Callaway Golf Collegiate Invitational in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. beginning March 5.
