HUDSON, Wis. - The Concordia-St. Paul men's golf team won the CSP/MSU Fall Brawl on Tuesday with a combined team score of 577 (+9) at Troy Burne Golf Club. The Golden Bears won the tournament by seven strokes led by freshman Tyler Debruyckere tying for second place finishing at 142 (E).
This marked CSP's first tournament victory since March 7, 2023, when the Golden Bears took first place at the Minnesota State Spring Invite in Goodyear, Arizona. Concordia had Debruyckere, Trey Timm and Thomas Gutzmer all finish in the top 10 to win the 13-team tournament.
"I'm super happy for the guys getting their first win of the season," said head coach Peter Maki. "It was a team effort, everyone in the top five had a score that counted. I'm really proud of how they battle some windy conditions."
After shooting 74 (+3) on Monday, Debruyckere smashed that score by six strokes in round two at 68 (-3). Tuesday's round was the lowest round by any golfer at the tournament. The freshman tallied eight birdies in the second round, pushing his total in the tournament to 12.
"That was a special round," Maki said. "He was super solid all day. He still had a couple of freshman mistakes in there, and had a few double bogeys. He easily could have won the tournament individually and that's a great place to start as a freshman."
This marked the best finish by a CSP freshman in a tournament since Brandon Sperling tied for 2nd place at the 2022 NSIC Championships. Debruyckere was sitting at one under par going into the final four holes where he hit three birdies and one bogey. This included back-to-back birdies to end the round on holes nine and 10.
Timm shot 72 (+1) on Tuesday after Monday's 73 (+2) to finish at 145 (+3). The junior finished the tournament with six birdies and 22 pars to tie for sixth place. This was Timm's best placement in a tournament beating last season's Bemidji State Invitational where he tied for ninth place.
"Trey's been struggling with his game a bit and we worked really hard on it this week," Maki said. "For him to come out and kind of anchor the team, especially on day two, that was big for us."
Gutzmer tied for eighth shooting a total of 146 (+4) after rounds of 71 (E) and 75 (+4). The senior tallied a total of five birdies and 24 pars in the Fall Brawl. This marked Gutzmer's lowest finish as a Golden Bear after transferring to the team last season.
After tying for first place after Monday's first round, freshman Dane Berggren finished the tournament tied for 23rd totaling a score of 149 (+7). Berggren finished with rounds of 70 (-1) and 79 (+8) to reach that mark. Senior Tommy Marker's second-round score of 74 (+2) was used for the team's day two total. He finished the tournament shooting 154 (+12) tying for 43rd.
The Concordia-St. Paul B-team finished in 11th with a team score of 613 (+45) led by sophomore transfer Josh Esterley in 28th place. Esterley finished at 150 (+8) after shooting 73 (+2) in the second round.
Senior Bailey Johnston was one stroke behind in 29th shooting 151 (+9). Johnston finished the second round with a score of 75 (+3). Sophomores Sam Rudolph, Chase Camilli and Camden O'Malley rounded out the team placing 47th, 59th and 73rd respectively.
Minnesota Crookston finished in second place with a team score of 584 (+16). Augustana was three strokes behind in third place at 587 (+19). Mason Weeks of Sioux Falls won the tournament individually shooting 141 (-1) with rounds of 70 (-1) and 71 (E).
The Golden Bears return to action next week at Winona State's Watkins Invitational. The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 23-24 at The Jewel Golf Club in Lake City.
