Flanagan Wins Again; Gophers Tie for 1st

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Angus Flanagan lit up the front nine at the University of Nebraska's Firethorn Golf Club on Sunday. The Minnesota senior from Woking, England,  birdied three of the first four holes, four of the first six and shot 31 (5 under par) on the front nine. He went on from there to claim medalist honors in the Git R Done Husker Invitational, and in the process he helped the Gophers tie Kansas State for first place in the team competition. 

It was the fourth victory of his college career, and the second in as many weeks. For the Gophers, this was their first team title since the Macdonald Cup in September of 2019. 

Flanagan has been on a roll lately. In late March, he was named to the Great Britain & Ireland side for the 2021 Walker Cup Matches, which will be played May 8-9 at Seminole Golf Club in Juno, Fla. Then last weekend, he went wire to wire while winning the individual crown in the Boilermaker Invitational. This weekend, he had to come from four shots behind (after shooting 70 and 71 on Saturday), which he did by closing with a 5-under-par 66. That gave him a 54-hole total of 207 (the same winning total he posted a week earlier). 

Tim Tillmanns of Kansas State shot 67 in his final round, and that lifted him into a tie for second at 208, along with Troy Taylor of Michigan State. Taylor's Spartan teammate James Piot, who was the medalist earlier this month in the Hoosier Invitational, was the 36-hole leader at Firethorn with a 137 (68-69). He was still in front, two ahead of Flanagan, after six holes on Sunday. But he played the last 12 holes in 4 over, shot 73 and dropped into fourth at 210. 

All of the players who would finish in the top four started on the first hole. Flanagan wasted no time in making his charge. He birdied the 335-yard, par-4 second, the 550-yard, par-5 third, the 200-yard, par-3 fourth and after a par at the fifth, he birdied the other par-3 on the front nine, the 200-yard sixth. But  Piot was 2 under for his round and still led Flanagan by two at that point.

Then things began to go South for Piot, as he bogeyed the seventh and eighth holes. Flanagan birdied the par-4 ninth (440 yards) and was along in first as he went to the 10th tee. He gave himself an extra stroke to play with by making a birdie at the 595-yard, par-5 11th hole, which turned out to be a good thing, because he made his only bogey of the day at the 430-yard, par-4 18th.

Tillmanns, who started the day tied with Flanagan, made four birdies and no bogeys. He was three behind at the turn and birdied the 11th and 14th holes to get within two of Flanagan, but finished his round with four consecutive pars for his 67. Taylor started the round just one behind Piot, but he shot 36 (1 over) on the front. His birdies at the 10th and 16th gave him final-day 70. 

In addition to Flanagan's medal-winning performance, Minnesota got a top-10 from Lincoln Johnson, a junior from Chaska. He opened with a 76 but came back with a 69 Saturday afternoon and shot 70 on Sunday for an aggregate of 215, good for solo ninth-place. Freshman Ben Warian (Hill-Murray) and senior Thomas Longbella (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) tied for 13th at 217.

Connor Glynn, a sophomore from Waconia, tied for 20th with a 219. 

The Gophers were 5 under par as a team on Sunday with a 279 and ended up with an overall 852, which Kansas State matched by posting a final-day 278. Michigan State led going into the final round, but could do no better than 290 (6 over) and slipped back into third at 859.

Flanagan, who won the Minnesota State Open and the Minnesota Golf Champions tournaments in 2020, will be the defending champion the next time the Gophers play -- at the Big Ten Championships (April 30-May 2) at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind. He won the Big Ten individual title two years ago, and there was no conference tournament last year, a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.   


MEN'S COLLEGE GOLF

Git R Done Husker Invitational

At Firethorn Golf Club

Par 71, 7,040 yards

Lincoln, Neb. 

Final results 

T1. Minnesota                           290-283-279--852

T1. Kansas State                      289-285-278--852

3. Michigan State                      291-278-290--859

4. Nebraska                              289-293-289--871

5. Eastern Michigan                 306-286-292--884

T6. Oral Roberts                       307-290-289--886

T6. Louisiana-Monroe               299-297-290--886

8. Missouri-Kansas City            304-297-289--890

9. Wyoming                               306-289-303--898

Individuals 

1. Angus Flanagan, Minnesota          70-71-66--207

T2. Tim Tillmanns, Kansas State           71-70-67--208

T2. Troy Taylor, Michigan State             70-68-70--208

4. James Piot, Michigan State               68-69-73--210

T5. Will Hopkins, Kansas State             70-73-70--213 

T5. Jack Lundin, Nebraska                   70-72-71--213

T5. Mark Foelbaek, Nebraska               73-73-67--213

T5. Caleb Badura, Nebraska                 72-68-73--213

9. Lincoln Johnson, Minnesota           76-69-70--215

T13. Thomas Longbella, Minn.            72-74-71--217

T13. Ben Warian, Minnesota                74-71-72--217

20. Connor Glynn, Minnesota              72-47-73--219

T51. Tristan Nelko, Nebraska               77-77-79--233

T57. Harry Plowman-Ollington, Minn. 74-76-85--235