RSU’s Blomander wins NSU Classic, Riverhawks’ Johnson takes second
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Rogers State sophomore Edwin Blomander picked up his first career collegiate victory on Tuesday, winning the 21stAnnual NSU Men’s Classic at the Muskogee Golf Club.
Blomander shot all three rounds in the 60s with a 69-66-68 to finish at 10-under par. The Eksjo, Sweden native won the tournament by four strokes and was the only golfer in the 100-player field to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds.
Blomander started on the back nine and birdied 11 and 12. Following bogeys on 13 and 14, he worked his way back to -2 with birdies on 15 and 16. Blomander then settled in to the round with eight-straight pars. Going into the final three holes, Blomander birdied the seventh and then shot par on eight and nine to close out the tournament.
With his 10-under total, Blomander tied the best tournament score in school history, matching Luke Palmowski’s -10 at the GAC Preview in September last year.
Blomander’s victory is the seventh individual title for the Hillcats in program history and the first outright victory since February of 2012. Palmowski tied for top medalist honors in last year’s Hillcat Classic, but lost in the playoff.
As a team, Rogers State shot a 285 on Tuesday to climb three spots from the start of the day and finish in eighth overall. The Hillcats finished with a three-day total of 862 and finished at +10 for the tournament. Both scores are in the top-five all-time for Rogers State at 54-hole tournaments.
The host RiverHawks placed fourth, shooting 849 (281-280-288). Sophomore Jax Johnson was the individual leader for NSU, finishing a career-best second with a three-round score of 207 (66-67-74), just four strokes back of Blomander.
Casey Paul finished the tournament tied for 22nd with a score of 213 (71-69-73) while Carlos Gamez was tied for 24th with a score of 214 (73-71-70). Hunter Pennington finished in a tie for 33rd at 217 (71-73-73) along with Grant Hynes (71-75-71) while Ty Shelnutt finished tied for 69th at 225 (73-80-72). Austin Tackett rounded out the RiverHawks lineup with a score of 232 (76-73-83).
Central Missouri rallied late to take the team championship with an overall score of 837 (285-273-279). Arkansas Tech finished in second with a score of 839 (283-273-283) with Washburn in third at 843 (280-280-283). Southwestern Okla. State rounded out the top-five with a score of 853 (276-289-288).
The RiverHawks will next be on the course Sept. 23-24 when they compete at the MSSU Lion Invitational, held at Shangri La Golf Course.
A pair of top-five individual finishes from Kason Cook and Gregor Weck helped Southwestern Oklahoma State. Both players shot two rounds in the 60’s, with Cook carding a 64 and Weck a 69 in the opening round as the Dawgs shot an 8-under par team score of 276. Cook followed that with a 69 in the second round while Weck finished strong with a 68 on Tuesday as both players finished at 5-under, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team and tied for third place.
Heston Brown bounced back from a pair of 75’s on Monday with an even-par 71 on Tuesday, which placed him tied with Anders Strand at 8-over for the tournament. Ryan Stark was 3-over on Monday before closing out the tournament with an 80.