Men's Golf | 04.29.2019

NEWTON, Kan. – The South Dakota men's golf team climbed the leaderboard on Monday to place in a tie for second at the Summit League Championship. Senior Tommy Vining and junior Scott Fudenberg were the top Coyotes after finishing in a tie for eighth place.
 
The final two rounds were played on Monday due to forecasted weather on Tuesday at Sand Creek Station Golf Club.
 
South Dakota entered the second round in fourth place after tallying 298 strokes in the first round and promptly improved in rounds two and three with 296 and 295 shots, respectively. Vining led the charge shooting 1-under-par over the final 36 holes to move from 35^th position on Sunday to eighth on Monday, totaling 222 strokes.
 
Vining, a senior competing in his final collegiate event, totaled eight birdies and 34 pars over the 54-hole tournament. He ranked second in the field with 4.1 strokes on par-4 holes.
 
Denver claimed the team championship with 874 strokes at 10-over-par. South Dakota tied South Dakota State for second place with 889 shots while Oral Roberts fell from first to fourth with 890 shots.
 
"Hats off to Denver," head coach John Vining said. "They played really well this afternoon. Our goal was to compete for and win a Summit League Championship. This year we fell short.
 
"I could not be more proud of how we competed. This group will remain a consistent contender in the years to come."
 
Fudenberg tallied 222 strokes thanks to the third-most birdies in the field with 10. He also topped the 45-player event with a stroke average of 4.58 on par-5 holes.
 
Sophomore Jacob Michel had rounds of 1-over-par and 2-over-par on Tuesday to finish with 225 shots and tied for 18^th. He ranked third in the field with 2.83 shots on the four par-3 holes. Junior Matt Tolan tied for 21^st with 226 shots and tied Vining for the top Coyote score in the final round with an even-par 72. Sophomore Tate Arends tied for 34^th with 232 shots.
 
Cal McCoy of Denver emerged victorious from a four-man playoff to earn individual medalist honors with 219 strokes at 3-over-par.
 
South Dakota has now finished in the top three of the Summit League Championship in each of the last three seasons.