After he turned in an 83 in Monday’s opening round, junior Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna) made significant improvement over the course of the Valparaiso University men’s golf team’s time at the Colleton River Collegiate at Dye Course in Bluffton, S.C. Wittmann bettered his score by five strokes in Round 2, then trimmed six more strokes off his mark in the tournament’s final round.
How It Happened
- Wittmann’s 72 in Round 3 allowed him to finish atop all Crusaders with a 233, a score that ranked tied for 42nd overall.
- Brett Seward (Aurora, Ill. / Aurora Christian) replicated his Round 1 score of an 80 in Round 2 before closing out his week with a 76 in the final round for a total score of 236, tied for 52nd.
- Also part of that tie for 52nd was Ross Lazar (Okemos, Mich. / Okemos), who joined Wittmann as the only Valpo players to go sub-80 in both rounds that were completed on Tuesday. Lazar followed his 79 in Round 2 with a 77 in Round 3.
- After leading the Crusaders in the first round, Matthew McCarthy (O’Fallon, Mo. / Timberland) faltered with an 85 in Round 2, but bounced back admirably with a 77 in Round 3.
Inside the Round
- Wittmann’s third round marked the seventh time this season a Valpo player has gone par or better. He matched his season best that was achieved in the second round of the Titans Motown Collegiate on Oct. 16.
- Valpo finished at 934 as a team, eight strokes back of 10th-place Oakland and four ahead of 12th-place George Washington. The Crusaders carded a 302 in the third round, their best of the tournament.
- Iowa State took the team title with an 880, while Miami’s Brian Ohr was the individual medalist with a 215.
- Four Crusaders had 31 pars apiece – Wittmann, McCarthy, Alexander and Lazar. Valpo had just 19 birdies, led by Seward with five. The Crusaders were strongest on Par 3 holes, where they averaged 3.33, tied for fourth in the tournament field.
Up Next
The Crusaders will next take the course on Monday, March 19 as they begin the Twin Oaks Intercollegiate at Twin Oaks Country Club in Springfield, Mo. The event will run through Tuesday, March 20.
