Korte Goes Low at Bandon Dunes Championship

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Despite Korte’s success DU finishes 12th in Oregon.

By Drew Kort

To say that team leader Chris Korte (Littleton) was able to take advantage of the short Pacific Dunes golf course at Bandon Dunes Resort would be an understatement. He earned his first top-5 finish on the season this week, and he did it in style.

An opening 3-over-par 74 on the 6,633-yard par-71 track put the Colorado native in danger of losing touch with the leaders, but he was able to grind his way back into contention with back-to-back 5-under-par 66s. He rose 43 spots on the individual leaderboard into a tie for fifth when play ceased.

Korte’s pair of 66s are tied for the lowest rounds of the veteran’s collegiate career, and his first such rounds since he was a freshman. He poured in a staggering 13 birdies over his final 36 holes, and his final round was bogey-free.

Freshman John Sand (Hoquiam, Washington) was the next lowest Pioneer. A steady 1-under-par round to open things up set the tone for the youngster, and he was able to keep his momentum going. He carded 74-73 in his final two loops to earn the lowest finish of his short collegiate career at T37 and 4 over par.

 

Sophomore Eric Hagen (Aberdeen, Washington) played a solid tournament, and improved each day with rounds of 75-74-72. He finished in a tie for 57th at 8 over par. Freshman Jackson Solem (Longmont) landed in a tie for 71st after rounds of 78-76-74, and sophomore Isaac Petersilie (Colorado Springs) ended alone in 70th after he posted 79-80-75.

The Crimson and Gold finished in solo 12th position out of 14 competing teams at 20 over par (297-290-285).

“Overall, we had two solid showings after a tough first day,” said head coach Erik Billinger after the final round. “It has been nice to see steady improvement from our guys this quarter and we are looking forward to getting back at it after spring break.”

The No. 22 ranked Sun Devils of Arizona State were on top of the team leaderboard after 54 holes at 28 under par. ASU’s Chun An Yu won on the individual side at 13 under par.

The team will be in competition again at in a special match play dual event with CSU on March 23rd in Seattle, Washington.

For his stellar play at the Bandon Dunes Championship, Korte was named Summit League Men’s Golfer of the Week in a release by the league on Thursday.

“Huge congrats to Chris for being named league player of the week,” head coach Erik Billinger said. “Chris continues to lead this team in many ways and his performance on the course this season has been really impressive. Watching him shoot back-to-back 66s this week at the Bandon Dunes Championship was awesome.”

Click here for tournament stats and scores.

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