BOONVILLE, Mo. – Playing their first tournament of the fall season, the Missouri Baptist University men's golf team started a little slow Monday morning at the CMU Fall Invite tournament at Hail Ridge Golf Course in Boonville, Mo. However, by the afternoon, they were able to shake off the rust and finished in a tie for fourth place at +34 [310-292-602].

In fact, in this tournament in which everyone played 36 holes in a single day, each of the five members of the MBU team improved from the first round to the second. None more than grad student Drew Wielgus who carded an opening round of +5 (76), then turned in a -2 (69) in the second round. His second-round score was the top score by any of the 62 golfers in the tournament and allowed him a final score of +3, which tied him for fifth place overall.

Not to be outdone, Freshman Jose Maria Gutierrez knocked eight shots off his tally from round one to round two. Senior Jack Moran improved by seven shots, Sophomore Jannik Daeschner trimmed by two, and Senior Alexander Engelhardt improved by a single shot. Overall, the Spartans finished with four of their five golfers in the Top-20 in the final individual standings.

The host, Central Methodist University, won the tournament with a score of 580, followed by Park University with 589, with AMC Conference foe William Woods University finishing in third with a score of 594.

Next up for the Spartans will be the NAIA Midwest Invitational at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill on September 26^th and 27^th.