Olson and Gallagher Lead St. John's to MIAC Men's Golf Title

• Men's MIAC Championship
• Women's MIAC Championship

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  COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Behind the duo of Ben Olson and Ryan Gallagher, St. John’s University team cruised to an 18-stroke victory Monday at the 2016 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Men’s Golf Championship at Bunker Hills Golf Club.

The Johnnies trailed Gustavus Adolphus College by a single shot following the opening round Saturday, but St. John’s rallied with rounds of 284 Sunday before carding a team score of 297 during the final round Monday to finish at 879, the second best finish in tournament history (St. John’s shot 877 in 2006).

Olson, Sioux Falls, S.D., opened the championship with a 72 Saturday but would grab the outright lead following his tournament-low 4-under par 68 Sunday. Making bogey on the opening hole Monday, Olson fell to 3-under for the tournament before rolling in his birdie look at the par-4 fourth.

Carding back-to-back bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes, Olson would head to the final nine at 2-under. He was unable to get up-and-down for par at the par-3 12th, but answered by sinking his birdie putt at the 16th.

A bogey on the final hole proved irrelevant as he earned medalist honors at 1-under par 216 Monday following his final round 75.

Gallagher, Shoreview, Minn., began the tournament with an even par 72 Saturday before entering the final round two shots back of the lead following his 2-under par 70 Sunday.

Carding back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes, Gallagher looked to challenge his teammate atop the leaderboard at 4-under for the championship, but Gallagher fell back to 2-under following a pair of bogeys at the fifth and sixth.

Gallagher’s third bogey of the round at the par-5 11th put him at 1-under for the tournament and he would finish the day with a double-bogey at the 18th to place second at 217, two shots behind Olson.

The Johnnies earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Golf Championship May 15-17 at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.



2016 MIAC MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
BUNKER HILLS GOLF CLUB
COON RAPIDS, MINN.
6,877 YARDS, PAR 72


FINAL TEAM RESULTS
1. St. John’s (Minn.), 298-284-297—879
2. Gustavus Adolphus, 297-302-298—897
3. Bethel University, 302-303-300—905
4. St. Thomas, 299-308-306—913
5. Concordia-Moorhead, 305-315-306—926
6. Augsburg College, 316-313-308—937
7. Carleton College, 310-318-315—943
8. St. Olaf College, 314-317-317—948
9. St. Mary’s Univ., 326-317-323—966
10. Macalester College, 330-320-327—977


FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Ben Olson, St. John’s, 72-68-75—215
2. Ryan Gallagher, St. John’s, 72-70-75—217
T3. Cade Montplasir, Concordia-St. Paul, 71-76-75—222
T3. Chris Captain, Gustavus Adolphus, 72-75-75—222
T5. Austin Kottke, St. John’s, 78-76-69—223
T5. Noah Bragg, Bethel, 77-73-73—223
T5. Alex Case, Bethel, 72-77-74—223
8. Riley Gannon, St. Thomas, 75-75-74—224
T9. Mack Farley, St. John’s, 76-71-78—225
T9. Ben Hauge, Gustavus Adolphus, 75-76-74—225


For complete tournament results go to: http://scoring.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=12170