Deziel Wins Summit League Title with Record Score

College

NEWTON, Kansas -- Nate Deziel opened the Summit League Men's Championship with a 7-under-par 65 at Sand Creek Station.That gave him the first-round lead, and the North Dakota State senior from East Grand Forks never let go of it last week on the way to a five-shot victory. He followed the 65 with a 68 and closed with a 70. The resulting 54-hole total of 203 (13 under) established a tournament record for the lowest winning score. It was also the lowest three-round total in the history of NDSU golf. 

Deziel's virtuoso performance nearly propelled the Bison to the team championship, as well. They came up one stroke short, finishing second to Denver, 850 to 851. Oral Roberts was a distant third, 13 behind NDSU at 864. 

Carson Griggs was the only other player besides Deziel to be under par in all three rounds. He started with a 69, then added a 68 and closed with a 70 for an aggregate of 208, which was good for second place. He was one of four Denver players who finished in the top eight. Jack Tanner of South Dakota State was third individually with a 211. 

Denver's Jackson Solem began the final round in second, but slipped back into fourth with a valedictory 74. 

Deziel, who won the Minnesota state high school Class AA championship in 2017, with a 137 (69-68) at Ridges at Sand Creek, seems to like courses with Sand Creek in their name. He began his final round at Sand Creek Station last week with a two-stroke lead over Solem, but bogeyed the first hole. Three birdies in the next four holes separated him from Solem -- and everyone else. He made 11 pars a birdie and a bogey from there, as he cruised to the crown. 

By virtue of its Summit League team championship, Denver earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Regional at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, Calif., May 16-18.  NDSU did not get an invitation to any of the six regionals, but with his victory, Deziel gained a spot at Spanos Park as an individual. That, however, doesn't give him great odds on making it to the NCAA Championships, which will be played May 27-June 1, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The deck is stacked against individuals, as far as that's concerned. Only one individual not with a team that's advancing will make it from each regional to Grayhawk. 

What that means is that it's possible for a player to finish second in his regional -- in a field of 75 players -- and not advance. 


Summit League Men's Championship

At Sand Creek Station Golf Course

Par 72

Newton, Kansas

Final results 

1. Denver                           281-281-288--850

2. North Dakota State       276-289-286--851

3. Oral Roberts                 282-291-291--864

4. South Dakota State      282-297-286--865

5. Missouri-Kansas City    287-299-295--881

6. Western Illinois             288-302-301--891

7. South Dakota                296-302-294--892

8. St. Thomas                   294-296-306--896

9. North Dakota                298-309-301--908

10. Nebraska-Omaha       298-312-302--912

Individuals 

1. Nate Deziel, NDSU                 65-68-70--203

2. Carson Griggs, Denver           69-71-68--208

3. Jack Tanner, SDSU                67-74-70--211

4. Jackson Solem, Denver         69-70-74--213

5. Liam Georgiadis, SDSU         71-71-72--214

T6. Jun Ho Won, Denver            73-69-73--215

T6. John Sand, Denver              71-71-73--215

T6. Dustin Hasley, ORU             71-69-75--215

T9. Hunter Laughlin, ORU          69-75-72--216

T9. Lane Wallace, ORU              70-73-73--216

T9. Max Schmidke, SD               72-72-72--216

T12. Brockl Winter, NDSU           69-76-72--217

T12. Nate Adams, NDSU            69-75-73--217

T12. Joshua Robards, UM-KC    69-75-73--217

T12. Wyatt Spier, W. Ill.              72-72-73--217

T16. Nick LaMotte, SD               72-74-73--219

T16. Ty Kretz, SDSU                  74-75-70--219

T16. Rocco Repetto-Taylot          72-74-73--219

T19. Matt Armstrong St. Thomas 71-76-73--220

T19. Esteban Missura, Denver    72-73-75--220

T19. Parker Govern, W. Illinois    68-75-77--220