Rogers State sophomore Edwin Blomander picked up his first career collegiate victory on Tuesday, winning the 21st Annual NSU Men’s Classic at the Muskogee Golf Club.
Blomander shot all three rounds in the 60s with a 69-66-68 to finish at 10-under par. The Eksjo, Sweden native won the tournament by four strokes and was the only golfer in the 100-player field to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds.
Blomander started off his 10 on the back nine and birdied 11 and 12. Following bogeys on 13 and 14, he worked his way back to -2 with birdies on 15 and 16. Blomander then settled in to the round with eight-straight pars. Going into the final three holes, Blomander birdied the seventh and then shot par on eight and nine to close out the tournament.
With his round of -10, Blomander tied the best tournament score in school history, matching Luke Palmowski’s -10 at the GAC Preview in September last year.
Blomander’s victory is the seventh individual title for the Hillcats in program history and the first outright victory since February of 2012. Palmowski tied for top medalist honors in last year’s Hillcat Classic, but lost in the playoff.
As a team, Rogers State shot a 285 on Tuesday to climb three spots from the start of the day and finish in eighth overall. The Hillcats finished with a three-day total of 862 and finished at +10 for the tournament. Both scores are in the top-five all-time for Rogers State at 54-hole tournaments.
Aidan Gavey also shot under par in the final round, shooting a 1-under-par round of 70 to climb 18 spots. Gavey finished with two under-par rounds in the tournament and finished in a tie for 28th overall with a +3 for the two-day event.
The biggest mover up the leaderboard for the Hillcats on the day was freshman Nico Horder, who climbed 22 places with an even-par 71 in the final round. Horder finished in a tie for 61st with a 10-over-par 223 over three rounds.
Gonzalo Chaves finished in a tie with Horder at 61st overall after a final round 76. Chaves led the Hillcats after a round one 68, but fell back with a 79 in round two before ending the tournament with a 5-over-par 76.
Logan Meehan rounded out the tournament for the Hillcats, finishing with an 82 on the final day. Meehan finished in 95th overall with a +24 for the event.
The Hillcats will be right back in action next week, traveling to Monkey Island, Oklahoma and Shangri La Resort for the MSSU Men’s Fall Invitational.
