Morningside finished second in the team standings and Cody Holck was the individual runner-up in the final 2017-18 GPAC men’s golf standings.

Cody Holck

Jonathan Douglas

Morningside finished as the 2017-18 GPAC men’s golf runner-up after defending champion Northwestern held off the Mustangs in Tuesday’s final round of the two-day GPAC Spring Qualifier tournament held at Woodland Hills Golf Club in Eagle, Neb.

The Red Raiders, who pocketed their fourth consecutive GPAC men’s golf title, finished with a four round total of 1152 strokes in the combined scoring from the GPAC Fall and Spring Qualifiers. Morningside, which went into the final round one stroke behind Northwestern, finished second with a 1161 for a 13-stroke cushion over third place Doane (1174) for runner-up honors.

Morningside trailed Northwestern by only one stroke after both teams carded 145s at the midway point of Tuesday’s final round.

Colten Kooima, the GPAC Player of the Year and a first-team NAIA Division II All-American this past men’s basketball season, played a major role in the Northwestern victory. Kooima, who did not play during the fall season, was a sizzling five-under par in the two Spring Qualifier rounds with scores of 69 and 68.

Northwestern’s Justin Kraft shot a pair of even par 71s at the GPAC Spring Qualifier to win the GPAC individual title with a four round total of two-under par 282.

Morningside’s Cody Holck finished as the GPAC individual runner-up at two-over par 286. Holck shot rounds of 70 and 69 in the GPAC Fall Qualifier and had scores of 71 and 76 in the Spring Qualifier.

Holck and Jonathan Douglas each carded scores of even par 71 to lead the Mustangs in the first round of the Spring Qualifier. The Mustangs also counted a 76 by Corey Matthey and a 77 by Xan Milligan.

Douglas and Milligan shared Morningside honors with 73s in the Spring Qualifier final round. The Mustangs also counted a 75 by Matthey and a 76 by Holck.

Matthey, the 2017 GPAC Men’s Golfer of the Year, finished eighth in the final GPAC individual standings with an eight-over par 292. Douglas finished 10th with a 10-over par 294.

Results