Huskers Open Year With Tournament Crown

The Nebraska men’s golf team began its 2004 fall schedule in impressive fashion on Tuesday by winning its own Fairway Club Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Nebraska posted a 296 team score in Tuesday’s third and final round to finish with a 903 total, good for a 10-shot victory over Southern Miss, who finished second in the 12-team field. Drake and <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Northern Illinois tied for third place at 917, followed by Northern Colorado who was fifth at 918. Northern Illinois and Northern Colorado each posted rounds of 295 on Tuesday, for the day’s low team score. Creighton finished 11th in the field with a 966 total.

 

The Huskers carried a 10-shot lead into the third round after rounds of 308 and 299 on Monday in extremely windy conditions. Nebraska maintained its margin on Tuesday on the strength of three scores of 75 or lower. Junior Judd Cornell fired an even-par 71 on Tuesday to complete three rounds at 222, good for a second-place finish. Ryan Lenahan’s 73 left him with a 226 total and a tie for sixth place, while Brady Schnell carded a 75 and completed three rounds at 234.

 

Cornell’s closing 71 left him just short of the individual crown, won by Southern Miss’ Danny Dennis, who completed three rounds of play with a 221 total. Dennis also carded a 71 on Tuesday. Nebraska’s Drew Reynolds, competing as an individual, posted a 77 in the final round to finish in third place at 223. Northern Colorado’s Chris Ellis and Northern Illinois’ Ethan Roush rounded out the top five with cumulative totals of 224 and 225, respectively.

 

In addition to Cornell, Reynolds and Lenahan, two other Huskers posted top-20 finishes. Sophomore Tom Bethel completed three rounds at 229 to tie for 11th place, while freshman Chris Bruening finished in a tie for 20th place with a 232 total.

 

Nebraska Coach Bill Spangler said the tournament victory was a good way to open the year for his young team.

 

“We talked about getting the season off to a good start and playing on our home course, we had made winning this tournament a goal,” Spangler said.

 

Nebraska is next in action next Monday and Tuesday at the Kansas Invitational at Alvamar Golf Club in Lawrence, Kan.