The Denver men’s golf squad hit the road again, competing at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City on April 15-16. The tournament was held at the Finkbine Golf Course, a par 72 layout that plays 7,186 yards and includes a unique island green design for its par-3 13th hole. Competitors were scheduled to play 36 holes on Saturday and the final 18 on Sunday, but a weather delay on Saturday pushed the final holes of round two to Sunday.

Junior Chris Korte (Littleton, Colorado), despite unfavorable conditions, shot a round one even par and was two-under on his afternoon loop when the rain hit. He was in contention on the individual leaderboard going into day two.

“Today’s conditions were tough with the wind and some late rain,” Korte said late on Saturday. “I felt great about today though, especially on the greens.”

Freshman Isaac Petersilie (Colorado Springs, Colorado) shot a one-over par 73 in the morning on Saturday and followed it up with a four-over 76 in round two. Senior Petter Mikalsen (Stavanger, Norway) played a couple of solid rounds as well, shooting 73-74 and three-over par. He sat in a tie for 58th going into the final round.

After finishing up the last six holes of round two in even par on Sunday morning, Korte was still within striking distance on the individual leaderboard.

The Pioneers turned in their lowest team score of the season in the final round of the invitational on Sunday. Collectively, the squad carded an even par 288, and this would catapult them to a finish in seventh position.

Junior Jake Kelly (Littleton, Colorado) was in red figures with a one-under par 71, and Korte and Mikalsen carded a pair of even par 72s. Petersilie wasn’t far behind shooting a solid one-over 73. Korte would finish in a tie for sixth individually, and this was his first top-10 finish this year. His three-round total was 214, two-under par.

“At one point we were six-under and it was great to see this team really get it going,” Head Coach Erik Billinger said. “Even par as a team today is impressive with how windy it was out there. I’m very proud of how focused they played.”

Solid contributions from the youngster Petersilie and continued veteran leadership from Mikalsen, Korte and Kelly have the team trending in the right direction as they head to Newton, Kansas to play in the Summit League Championship May 1-2.