No. 20 Saint John's golf hosts its fall invitational this Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 18-19. The first round is scheduled for noon Saturday at St. Cloud C.C., followed by a 9 a.m. start Sunday at Blackberry Ridge G.C. in Sartell. - Live Scoring

AT THE TEE BOX: Saturday's first round will be similar to last spring, in which all five student-athletes will be playing together as a group, and Sunday's round will be like normal (four teams' No. 1 in one group, their No. 2 in another, etc.).

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's won its second consecutive tournament to start the 2021-22 season with a three-round total of 871 (+7) last weekend (Sept. 11-12) at the Minnesota Classic held at Pioneer Creek G.C. (par 72) in Maple Plain. SJU won the 14-team tournament by 14 shots ahead of Gustavus Adolphus (+21, 885). The Johnnies' second team, SJU Blue, finished one shot behind the Gusties in third (+22, 886).

The Johnnies entered the final two rounds early Sunday morning with a two-shot lead over Wisconsin-Eau Claire and extended the lead to eight - over SJU Blue - following the second round. That lead grew to 14 with the 1-under par 287 in the final round.

Two Johnnies finished in the top 15 individually. Sophomore Glavine Schugel (New Ulm, Minn.) tied with Gustavus' Jacob Pedersen for the best finish among the Division III competitors - 10th - at 213 (-3). He ended the weekend with a collegiate-best, 3-under par 69 in the final round. Junior Thomas Gutzmer (Jordan, Minn.) finished one shot behind Schugel with a 214 (-2) to tie for 13th.

Sophomores Sam Berger (Waconia, Minn.) and Blake Schuler (Waconia, Minn.) tied for 39th (+8, 224) and 47th (+10, 226), respectively, and sophomore Nate Loxtercamp (Richmond, Minn./Melrose Area) rounded out the Johnnies' five in a tie for 55th (+12, 228). 

Freshman Andrew Boemer (Eagan, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) led SJU Blue in a tie for 23rd with a 218 (+2), thanks to a 3-under par 69 in the final round. Sophomores Parker Bartels (Oxbow, N.D./Kindred) and Max Thelen (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace) tied for 28th (+5, 221).

The Johnnies return home to host their annual fall invitational this Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 18-19. The first round is scheduled for tee times starting at noon Saturday at the St. Cloud C.C., followed by 9 a.m. shotgun start Sunday at Blackberry Ridge G.C. in Sartell.

MIAC CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Schugel was named the MIAC Men's Golf Co-Athlete of the Week, with the Gusties' Jacob Pedersen, Tuesday (Sept. 14) for his performance last weekend. He collected 13 birdies and 32 pars in the tourney. The top-10 finish was his fourth in eight career events so far for SJU and is averaging a 72.6 in five rounds this fall. 

A two-sport competitor at New Ulm High School, Schugel totaled 163 points (81g/82a) in 103 career games for the Eagles' hockey team. He posted four points (2g/2a) in eight games for the local New Ulm Steel of the NA3HL following his senior season on the ice.

GUTZY FINISH: Gutzmer scorched the golf course Sunday - recording a combined 137 (-7) - to finish in his tie for 13th overall at the Minnesota Classic. His second round of the tournament (Sunday's first round) included two double bogeys, an eagle on No. 9 (par 5, 558 yards) and seven other birdies, including five on the back nine, to finish with a 2-under par 70. Gutzmer followed that with an unblemished scorecard - five birdies and 13 pars - for a career-best, 5-under par 67 in the final round.

TWO WINS TO START: SJU has started its season with two wins three times since 2000: 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2008-09. The Johnnies went on to win the MIAC title all three seasons, as well as the NCAA Division III championship in 2007.

BLUE LED BY BOEMER: As mentioned above, Boemer (BAY-mer) led SJU Blue in a tie for 23rd with a 218 (+2), thanks to a 3-under par 69 in the final round, last weekend in Maple Plain. He has a 75.6 scoring average in five rounds so far in his collegiate career. Boemer, like Schugel above, also has hockey in his background. He recorded an assist in seven games as a defenseman for the NAHL's St. Cloud Norsemen in 2020-21 and totaled 44 points (11g/33a) in 83 games on the blue line for St. Thomas Academy from 2017-20.

RANKED NO. 20: SJU was ranked No. 20 in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches' poll released earlier today (Sept. 17). Methodist (N.C.) moved up one spot to No. 1 with one first-place vote, followed by Illinois Wesleyan and its eight first-place votes at No. 2. Huntingdon (Ala.) picked up the two other first-place votes at No. 3. SJU received votes in the Bushnell/Golfweek preseason poll posted Aug. 27.

SJU's FALL INVITE HISTORY: The Johnnies' varsity team has finished in the top three at 17 of SJU's last 19 fall invitational tournaments, including 11 wins. SJU Blue participated alone in 2016, while the varsity was at the Division III Preview in Florida, and took third.

WHO WILL BE HERE: The 18 Johnnies are scheduled to be joined by the following schools this weekend: Bethel (two teams), Carleton, Concordia-Moorhead, Macalester, St. Olaf, St. Scholastica and Wisconsin-Superior.

WHO'S PLAYING: SJU's 18 golfers will be competing this weekend as follows:

SJU Red
1. Junior Thomas Gutzmer (Jordan, Minn.)
2. Sophomore Glavine Schugel (New Ulm, Minn.)
3. Sophomore Sam Berger (Waconia, Minn.)
4. Sophomore Nate Loxtercamp (Richmond, Minn./Melrose Area)
5. Sophomore Blake Schuler (Waconia, Minn.)

SJU Blue
1. Sophomore Max Thelen (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace)
2. Freshman Andrew Boemer (Eagan, Minn./St. Thomas Academy)
3. Sophomore Parker Bartels (Oxbow, N.D./Kindred)
4. Sophomore Nate Bauer (Andover, Minn.)
5. Sophomore Mark Longhenry (Bloomington, Minn./Holy Angels)

SJU White
1. Senior Joe Abdo (Edina, Minn.)
2. Sophomore Cameron Lemke (Avon, Minn./Albany)
3. Senior Isaac Burgess (Starbuck, Minn./Minnewaska Area)
4. Sophomore Jack Truscott (Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep)
5. Sophomore Mason Sunder (Cold Spring, Minn./St. Cloud Tech)

Individuals
-Sophomore Thomas Ellis (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen)
-Freshman Will Gruidl (Edina, Minn./Minnehaha Academy)
-Sophomore Jackson May (Monticello, Minn.)

SJU'S COURSE RECORDS: The Johnnies' course records at St. Cloud C.C. (-5) and Blackberry Ridge G.C. (-3) are both at least eight years old. Gutzmer came close at Blackberry (the Johnnies' home course), however, with a 2-under par 70 at the 2021 SJU Spring Invitational in April.

St. Cloud C.C. (par 72)
-5 - Joe Schoolmeesters, St. Cloud State Dual (April 26, 2007)
-4 - Casey Vangsness, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 26, 2014)
-4 - Tommy Koehler, St. Cloud State Dual (April 24, 2014)
-4 - Casey Vangsness, St. Cloud State Dual (April 2, 2012)
-4 - Andy Stahlman, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 23, 2011)
-3 - Ben Cahill, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 23, 2011)
-3 - Tony Krogen, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 24, 2010)
-2 - Joe Daly, St. Cloud State Dual (April 26, 2007)
-1 - Collin Seal, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 25, 2015)
-1 - Ben Cahill, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 24, 2010)
-1 - Mark Giorgi, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 24, 2010)
-1 - Dennis Granath, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 24, 2010)
-1 - Andrew Longbella, St. Cloud State Dual (April 26, 2007)

Blackberry Ridge G.C. (par 72)
-3 - Brett Draxler, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 15, 2013)
-3 - Alex Wieme, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 14, 2008)
-2 - Thomas Gutzmer, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 24, 2021)
-2 - David Schneider, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 17, 2016)
-2 - Casey Vangsness, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 18, 2011)
-1 - Nate Bauer, Saint John's Spring Invitational (April 24, 2021)
-1 - Ryan Gallagher, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 19, 2015)
-1 - Casey Vangsness, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 19, 2010)
-1 - Dennis Granath, Saint John's Fall Invitational (Sept. 20, 2009)