SMITHVILLE, MO — The Grand View University men's golf team delivered a strong performance across three rounds at the Heart of America Men's Golf Conference Championship, finishing second out of 13 teams at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex - The Outlaw, on April 27-28.
The Vikings posted a cumulative team score of +3, shooting rounds of -2, +2, and +3, finishing 12 strokes behind conference champion Missouri Valley (-9) and one stroke ahead of third-place Mount Mercy (IA) (+4). With the strong play in recent tournaments, the runner-up finish caps of a strong year as the Vikings await an NAIA National Tournament bid.
Krish Gupta paced the Vikings individually, tying for fourth place in the full field with a three-round score of -3 (-1, -1, -1). Gupta's steadiness and ability to stay under par across three rounds made him one of the more reliable scorers in the conference field and a key anchor to Grand View's team total.
Jack Winkel was equally impressive, carding rounds of -3, -1, and +3 to sit at -1 through three rounds, good enough for a share of 7th place overall. Winkel's opening round of -3 was among the best single-round scores in the entire tournament and helped set the tone early for the Vikings.
Harrison Froling rounded out Grand View's top three performers with a solo 11th-place finish, posting rounds of +1, +2, and even par. His continued presence near the top of the leaderboard provided vital team scoring support and helped keep Grand View in contention throughout the tournament.
Calvin McNeeley rounded out the team scoring in a tie for 12th place. Calvin provided consistent scoring throughout the tournament, carding rounds of +1, +2, and +1. Calvin was able to stay level-headed the entire tournament, grinding out par after par keeping the Vikings in a solid spot.
Cade McGill posted respectable backup scores of +5, +4, and +6, though his scores were not used, seeing consistent play on the leaderboard did not go unnoticed, as it helped the other Viking golfers through their rounds knowing they had a dependable 5th man to fall back on.
The second-place finish is a strong capstone to the conference season and positions the Grand View program well heading into postseason as they await a National Tournament berth on Thursday, April 30th.
TOURNAMENT LINK:
SCOREBOARD - Heart of America Men's Golf Conference Championship (Men) Team Leaderboard
