When the Gophers finished second in the Barona Collegiate Cup just over a week ago, one golfer outplayed the entire field.
Sophomore Runar Arnorsson won the event and broke the school record for lowest score in a round while doing so.
“I think from a golf swing standpoint, he really understands what he needs to do now to see the trajectory and flight [of the ball] and the results he wants to have,” head coach John Carlson said. “He’s just all-knowing on his golf swing, which is something we hope all of our players strive to have.”
Arnorsson scored a 62 in the first round of the tournament, the lowest 18-hole score in Minnesota history.
He shot a 71 the second day, which was tied for the fourth-best score of the round, and a 74 the third day to place first in an event for the first time in his college career.
The Gophers had not had an individual win a nondual tournament since Jose Mendez won the 2014 Big Ten title.
“Runar got off to a great start in rounds two and three,” Carlson said. “I wasn’t surprised. He was just very confident. He had great warm-up sessions, and he knew that his ability was good enough that week.”
Arnorsson has a team-low average score of 74.16 this spring, after averaging a score of 76.13 in the fall. He also earned his first Big Ten Golfer of the Week award on March 24 after his first-place finish at the Barona Collegiate Cup.
“It was pretty cool,” Arnorsson said. “It was nice to be able to do that, accomplish that.”
