T-Bird M-Golf Stuns DI Competition with Win

The NMJC men's golf team (-17) shocked the 13 team DI field at the Colin Montgomerie-HCU Invitational with a one-stroke victory over Missouri State and Weber State. The T-Birds shot a 54-hole total of 847 (-17) to win at the par-72 Sweetwater Country Club on Tuesday, March 5. 

NMJC earned their fourth win of the season and third win of the spring. The T-Birds are 3-0 so far in 2024. The 2022-23 men's golf squad ended the season with five team wins. 

The Thunderbirds were the only junior college faction participating in the 15 team field this week in Sugar Land, Texas. The competition featured teams from the Summit League, Big Sky, Missouri Valley Conference, Southland Conference, and Western Athletic Conference.

Freshman Henry Drake was the top performer for the T-Birds in 10th place at 6-under par (72-69-69) with a 54-hole total of 210. The Englishman's round initially got off to a poor start as he sat 3-over par after his first five holes. 

Drake started on the fourth hole and after two opening pars he made three straight bogeys on holes 6,7, and 8. Drake righted the track on No. 10 for his first birdie of the day to move him to 2-over after seven holes. The freshman then gave one back on hole 12 but made back-to-back birdies on No. 15 and No. 16. Drake made birdie on No. 2 his 17th hole of the day to move himself back to level par where he stayed shooting an even par 72.     

Round 2 for Drake began with a bogey on his opening hole No. 4. Consecutive was the tune for the Englishman's second round. Drake made two consecutive birdies on No. 6 and No. 7 to pull himself to red numbers at 1-under. He then gave it back with consecutive bogeys on hole 11 and 12. Back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 moved him into red numbers again at 1-under. Drake once again made two birdies in a row this time on his final two holes to post a 3-under 69.

Drake's final round was a roller coaster which featured eight pars, seven birdies, two bogeys, and a double. The double on No. 17 was costly, but a birdie on No. 1 to shoot 69 for the second straight round was pivotal in the T-Birds one-stroke victory. 

Kalle Svederman slotted in at the second spot for NMJC with his 2-under (70-69-75) T-17 finish on Tuesday. 

Svederman had a colorful start with a birdie on 1, bogey on 2, birdie on 3, and back-to-back bogeys on No. 4 and No. 5. He sat at 1-over par through five holes. The Swede made six straight pars and then brought it back to level on No. 12 with a birdie. He then eagled 16 to move into red figures at 2-under par. The sophomore went on to shoot a 2-under 70 in Round 1.

Round 2 for Svederman featured seven pars, four birdies, and one bogey in his first 12 holes. Svederman parred his final six holes to shoot a 3-under 69.

The final round was less productive for the Swede. Svederman started 1-under through five, but made a bogey on No. 6, a double on No. 12, and a bogey on his closing hole No. 18 to shoot a 3-over par 75. 

Fresh off his win at the Thunderbird Invitational, freshman Elias Pettersson recorded at T-30 after shooting an even par (74-70-72) 54-hole total of 216.

Pettersson was even through his first eight holes with a birdie on 1 and a bogey on hole 2. A double on No. 9 had the Swede out in 38. The back nine got wacky with Petterson parring No. 10 and eagling No. 11 to move to even par for the day, He then went bogey-bogey-birdie-par-bogey-birdie-bogey to shoot a 2-over 74. 

Pettersson's second round front nine was similar to his back nine. He eagled No. 2 and birdied No. 3 to move to 3-under through three. Pettersson bogeyed No. 4 and ended the front par-par-double-birdie-bogey to shoot a level par 36. Birdies on No. 11 and No. 15 had Pettersson finishing under par with a 2-under 70.  

Pettersson started on No. 3 to begin the final round. The Swede finished his first nine holes at 1-over par with three pars, three birdies, two bogeys and a double on No. 11. Pettersson got the bounce-back bird on No. 12 to get to level par. Pettersson stayed even over his next six holes and then moved on to No. 1 where he bogeyed. His final hole of the day was No. 2 and Pettersson managed to make birdie on the last hole like Drake. The bird proved to be the difference in slaying the DI opponents by a stroke. 

Travis Robbie came T-34 after shooting a 1-over par (67-74-76) two-day total of 217. Robbie had a magical first round where he started 5-under through his first five holes with an eagle and three birdies. The sophomore would drop a shot on No. 6 to bring himself down to earth at 4-under. Birdies on 10, 15, and 17 brought his total all the way up to 7-under. Robbie cooled in his final two holes going bogey-bogey on No. 18 and No. 1 to shoot a 5-under 67.

The Australian made four pars, three bogeys, and two birdies in his first nine holes of Round 2. Robbie made seven straight from No. 10 to No. 16 to stay at 1-over par. He finished his last three holes bogey-bogey-birdie to shoot a 2-over 74. Robbie's final round was one he'd like to forget. The Aussie couldn't get anything going and shot a 4-over 76. The card included 13 pars, three bogeys, and a double.

Matt Walters rounded out the team scoring T-39 (65-79-75) with a 3-over three-round total of 219. 

Walters was nearly flawless in Round 1. The South African started on No. 3 and made birdies on No. 5, No. 7, No. 10, No. 11, No. 14, and No. 15 to move to 6-under through 13 holes. His lone blemish was on No. 16 where he bogeyed. Walters parred his next three holes and eagled his final hole, No. 2, to shoot a tournament and career-low 7-under round of 65.

The game of golf is a fickle one and Walters can attest. The golf gods giveth and taketh and in Round 2 they chose the latter. Walters was only 2-over through nine holes, but then hit a nasty stretch on holes 12-18. The South African went bogey-double-par-birdie-bogey-bogey-double to fall to 8-over par through 16 holes. A birdie on No. 2 eased the pain as he shot a 7-over 79 to unfortunately wipe the progress he made in Round 1 and move the sophomore long hitter to level par headed into the final round on Tuesday.

Walters was much steadier in Round 3 starting par-birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie in his first four holes to stay at even. He went on to make nine straight pars before bogeying the par-4 18th to fall to 1-over with three holes to play. Walters birdied No. 1, bogeyed No. 2, and suffered a splash on No. 3 to double and finish 3-over par. The final-round 75 by Walters was enough to edge Weber State and Missouri State by one stroke. 

The T-Birds will hit the course next at the Tanklogix Intercollegiate hosted by Midland College on March 12-13 at Ranchland Hills Golf Club in Midland, Texas.