The Grand Valley State University men’s golf team walked away with another first-place finish in the Doc Spragg Invitational, continuing an outstanding start to the fall season after a first-place finish in their first invite. 

Going into the invite the Lakers had not secured the champion title in the Doc Spragg before, placing eighth in 2021 and seventh in 2019. This victory was a step forward for GVSU.

“We came into the invitational really prepared,” said head coach Gary Bissell. “We did a good job preparing for the course and simulating it the best we could so we could work on the parts of our game that would pertain to the course.”

Thanks to a solid showing after day one of the invite, GVSU found themselves in first heading into the second and final day. The Lakers shot a 559 in the first two rounds, 17 strokes under par. 

GVSU never wavered on day two as they maintained the lead they built previously, shooting a total score of 840 (-24) to come out on top.

After two rounds, sophomore Charles DeLong sat two strokes behind first place with 133 (-11). On day two, he pulled ahead, shooting 69 (-3) and securing a first-place finish with a score of 202 (-14) on the individual player leaderboard.

“Winning is always the goal for us,” DeLong said. “It’s kind of become the expectation for us in our program. Executing the plan is always a really good feeling.”

The Lakers showed off their depth at the invite, as sophomore Nick Krueger tied for seventh place with 211 (-5), freshman Bryce Wheeler placed 13th with 212 (-4) and sophomore Drew Coble tied 18th with 216 (E). 

Freshman Charlie Cooley also found himself in the top-35 of 92 players, as he tied for 33rd, shooting a 219 (+3).

DeLong is the second Laker to claim a first-place individual position this season. Just over two weeks prior, Coble placed first overall in the Arendsen Invitational. 

Bissell highlighted the fact that the depth of the team is a point of emphasis this season.

“We debatably had the best top-three in the country last year, but we really lacked that four and five spot,” Bissell said. “We had a really good recruiting class this year, and our guys have gotten better as well. Now we have a lot more competition for those spots, which helps our top guys without the pressure to perform their absolute best every time.”

“It was a good tournament,” Bissell continued. “There were some darn good teams and definitely some that I think we’ll see in the national championship.”

Even though Bissell mentioned postseason action, he said that GLIAC or NCAA postseason tournaments aren’t a concern at this point in time.

“It’s a long way off, so we haven’t even thought about it,” Bissell said. “We’re really big on taking it one day at a time. Our goal is just to keep getting better.”

GVSU will travel to Grand Haven to compete in a three-day invite at the Folds of Honor Invitational starting Monday, Sept. 26.