For the first time since 2001, the University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s golf team is heading to the NCAA Championships. The Tritons tied for fourth place in the Midwest/South Central Regional to secure their spot in the field of 20 teams from across the country that will compete for a national championship May 16-20 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at the Shoals in Florence, Ala.
The Tritons carded a final score of 893 with rounds of 293, 300 and 300. The other advancing teams from the Midwest/South Central Regional include Abilene Christian (289-287-300) and Central Oklahoma (296-290-290), who were co-regional team champions with an 876, Cameron (290-302-289 881), which placed third, and Central Missouri (291-305-297 – 893), who tied UMSL for fourth place.
The weather played havoc on the course during the week, with Tuesday’s scheduled round being moved to Wednesday due to heavy rain. UCM tallied a 291 in the opening round on Monday to sit four shots off the lead, but the second and third rounds were both played on Wednesday. A 305 in the morning round had UCM in sixth, but the Mules came back to fire a 297 in the afternoon to edge the sixth place squad by just three shots.
Individually, senior Matt Miller (Eldon, Mo.) tied for fourth with an even-par 215, while classmate Zack Van Dolah (Kansas City, Mo.) was tied for 18th with a 222. Senior Ryan Penfield paced the Tritons by tying for sixth place, shooting an even 216 (70-74-72).
