Missouri Men’s Golf opened their season with a win and an individual title for Virgilio Paz
Missouri Men’s Golf tee’d off in two events this past weekend. Venezuelan junior Virgilio Paz won the Golfweek Put Me In Coach Invitational individually as the Tigers finished first in the team event. The Tigers continued the success with a second place finish at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational.
Missouri sent four golfers to Indiana for the Golfweek Put Me in Coach Invitational, a 54-hole event. Paz won the event in a playoff with a score of -1. Paz was three under heading into the final hole of the tournament, but an untimely double bogey paved the way for Miami University- Ohio golfer Michael Weber to tie Paz at the conclusion of the tournament. The playoff was brief, as Paz rolled in a 10-foot putt on the first playoff hole to clinch a win in his first event of the season.
The Tigers had a strong showing as a whole, winning the team competition with a score of +11. Freshman Trent Mierl posted an even score for the event in his college debut, finishing tied No. 3 in the event. Senior Trevor Mierl finished right behind his brother with a score of +3 for the weekend, landing him at tied fifth. Missouri’s final golfer, Jakob Hansen finished with a score of +7 and tied 14th. His week was highlighted after finishing the second round at -1 with a score of 69.
The Tigers also participated in Canadian Collegiate Invitational, where they placed second out of 10 teams. The Tigers held a ten stroke lead heading into the final round of the tournament, but stumbled in the final round with a team score of +10. Notre Dame capitalized on the Tigers final round performance, as the Fighting Irish scored six under par in the final round to win with a total team score of -17. Missouri finished the week tied for second alongside University of Michigan with a score of -12.
Five Missouri golfers played in the event. The highlight for the Tigers was VCU transfer Veikka Viskari, who tied fifth with a score of -8 in his Missouri debut. Dagbjartur Sigurbrandsson began his senior year tying eight with a score of -6.
Sophomore Brock Synder finished at -2, including rounds of 68 and 69. Synder placed tied 14th. In his Tiger debut fellow VCU transfer Mattias Varjun placed at 29th, shooting +4. Freshman Bubba Chapman finished tied at 41 in his collegiate debut, with a score of +14 as the final Tiger in the tournament.
Missouri will continue their season Sept. 30 at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, in Johnson, Arkansas.
Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com
Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com
Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com