South Dakota senior golfer Jordan Rykal shot a program-record 14-under par for 54 holes and won SIUE’s Derek Dolenc Invitational held Monday and Tuesday at Gateway Golf Links.
It was the second collegiate win for Rykal, who won the Jackrabbit Fall Classic a year ago. Rykal bested a field of 87 golfers from 15 teams.
Rykal followed back-to-back rounds of 5-under 66 Monday with a final round 67 Tuesday. He earned a four-stroke victory against Belmont’s Ashton Van Horne and was one of nine players in the field who finished under par.
“It was fun to watch,” said USD head coach Nick Hovden. “Jordan was in the hospital Sunday morning with a respiratory infection and we weren’t sure he was going to be in the lineup. He assured me he would be ready to go and he was just that. He was dialed in and confident all three rounds.”
Rykal helped South Dakota to a fifth-place finish in the team standings at 5-over 857. SIUE had two players in the top 10 and won the event with an 8-under 844. Belmont was five strokes back in second place. Tennessee-Martin was third at even par and Missouri State was fourth at 2-over.
Coyote junior Grant Campbell finished at 5-over for 24th place. Junior Cody Seal was 48th at 9-over. Freshman Andrew Brown (10-over) and sophomore Matt Swanson (11-over) placed 54th and 59th, respectively.
The tournament was the third of five for South Dakota this fall. The Coyotes compete next Monday and Tuesday at Drake’s Zach Johnson Invitational.
