In their opening tournament of the fall season, the NC State men’s golf team finished 12th out of 13 teams at the Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Country Club in Independence, Minnesota with a total score of 28 over par, which was 32 shots off first place. This was a three-round tournament, with each player playing 36 holes Sunday and 18 holes Monday.
The highest finishers for the Wolfpack were senior Christian Salzer and junior Easton Paxton, who both finished tied for 24th at five over par. Salzer had an outstanding final round, shooting 69 Sunday, with only two other players shooting better than him on the day.
In their first tournament as college athletes, freshman Spencer Oxendine finished at nine over par and tied for 44th, and freshman Max Steinlechner finished at 10 over par and tied for 50th place for NC State. To round out the players for the Wolfpack, senior Benjamin Shipp finished at 15 over par, good enough for 66th place.
The Wolfpack was the only ACC school represented in the field. NC State competed with Big 12 schools such as Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma; SEC schools such as Texas A&M and Arkansas; and Big 10 schools such as Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State and Purdue.
Baylor took home first place in the tournament with a team score of four under par, and William Buhl from Arkansas won the individual title with a score of six under par.
If you would like to see all of the scores from the invitational, you can do so here.
NC State will be back in action Sept. 13-15 for the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in Carefree, Arizona at Mirabel Golf Club.
Sophomore Easton Paxton takes a swing while driving a ball at Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018. Paxton finished round two with an even score.
