Missouri men’s golf places sixth in their third match of the season

Veikka Viskari led the pack for Missouri men’s golf once again at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in what was an overall poor team performance. Missouri finished sixth out of 10 teams playing, shooting a combined 43-up.

Viskari has all but cemented himself as Missouri’s best golfer, posting a team best score in each of their first three matches. The junior finished the week in Fayetteville 6-up, shooting a combined average score of 74. His best round came on the second day, where he shot 72. Viskari was the only Tiger to shoot even or better any day.

A rough third day shot Virgilio Paz down 13 spots to 22nd place overall, leaving a bad stain on what was an otherwise solid match. Paz finished 10-up on the week with an average score of 75.3 — heavily influenced by the 79 he posted on the third day. The senior’s best round came on the second day, where he posted a score of 73 (1-up).

Sophomore Trent Mierl bounced back in a major way, finishing in 33rd place after a disastrous score of 81 on the first day. Mierl shot 75 (3-up) on both the second and third day, leaving him with an average score of 77 (15-up).

First-year Reese Roberts and junior Bradley Mulder tied for 36th place, each shooting 17-up on the week and posting average scores of 77.7. Roberts had the best day of the two, shooting 75 (3-up) on the second day. However, Mulder was the more consistent of the two, shooting 77, 78 and 78 over the week.

First-year Esteban Cruz Bonilla made his Missouri golf debut as an independent performer, meaning his score wasn’t counted towards the team total. The Frenchman’s week was less than ideal, finishing last amongst qualifying golfers with an average score of 85.3 (40-up). With that being said, Bonilla did show some improvement on the third day, shooting 80.

The Arkansas Razorbacks ran away with the victory on their home course, shooting 3 under par as a team. 18 strokes separated Arkansas and the second-place Louisville Cardinals. Each of Arkansas’ five participating golfers placed in the top 15, led by senior John Daly II’s score of 2 under par.

Next, Missouri will head to Dayton, Ohio Oct. 13 for the Moraine Intercollegiate.

Edited by Killian Wright | [email protected]
Copy edited by Avery Copeland | [email protected]
Edited by Alex Gribb | [email protected]