On Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 3 and 4, the UNI men’s golf team traveled to Omaha, Neb., to play in the Big O Classic. There were 14 different schools competing in the tournament, and UNI placed 10th in the team rankings. They also had two performers who ranked high in the individual rankings, as both Thomas Storbeck and Tommy Doyle finished at -1 through the three rounds that were played.

The first two rounds of the tournament were played on Monday. In the first round, Jack Moody was leading the way for the Panthers. After being +2 on the front nine, he made some great ground on the back nine, having five birdies to finish the round at -2. Moody played as an individual, so his scores were not counted towards UNI’s team total. Doyle was not too far behind him, as he ended the first round even. The rest of UNI’s golfers were in similar territory, as Griffin Parker was at +3, JD Pollard +2, Connor VanWeelden +4 and Storbeck +3 in a solid first round for the Panthers. Creighton’s Shaun Campbell shot the low round of the tournament in the first, with a 66, -6.

The second round fared very well for Storbeck, who bounced back big time following his +3 on the first round. He had six birdies along with just two bogies, to put his round at 68, -4. This was his season best, and one of the lowest rounds of the tournament. Doyle went +1, VandWeelden and Moody both went +4, Parker went +7 and Pollard went +9. As a whole the Panthers struggled a bit more in the second round, and going into Tuesday, they were ranked 11th out of 14 teams.

On Tuesday, the Panthers looked to jump up the standings as a team, and some of the individuals looked to make some noise of their own as well. Storbeck and Doyle both finished the tournament on a great note. Storbeck went even in the third round, and Doyle went -2, his best of the season, and even got himself an eagle on the 11th hole. Both of their totals over the three rounds had them tied up at -1, which was good enough for a tie at 6th place in the individual standings. Unfortunately the rest of UNI’s golfers did not find quite as much success. VanWeelden and Pollard went +7, Parker +8 and Moody +15.

UNI finished in 10th with a team score of 982. St. Thomas won the team championship with a score of 863, and Creighton’s Shaun Campbell won the individual with a score of 210, -6.

UNI men’s golf will compete next on Monday and Tuesday Oct. 10 and 11, at the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational in Wichita, Kan. That will be followed by the Iowa Fall Classic in Riverside, Iowa, Oct. 16 and 17, hosted by Iowa.