The Gophers had strong showings from both veteran and newer players in their second tournament of the year, and the team looks to be taking the meet as a learning experience.

Minnesota finished tied for sixth out of 13 teams in the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio on Monday and Tuesday, but the squad is still searching for consistency.

“We made a lot of birdies this week,” head coach John Carlson said. “But we also compounded it with poor tee-shots at certain times. We didn’t handle fairway bunkers really well. It’s just something we will have to get back to practice to work on.”

The Gophers closed out the first day of competition in fifth place and shot 15 over par, collectively. The second day saw a third-round total of 290, bringing the team’s final score to 873 and 21 over par for a sixth-place tie.

Auburn took the team title with a final mark of 9 under par. Duke junior Jake Shuman and Michigan sophomore Nick Carlson tied for the individual title, each shooting 4 under par.

The top-half finish for Minnesota was largely due to solid performances at the individual level. Freshman Thomas Longbella started hot in the first two rounds and shot a 74 and 69, respectively, which put him in 16th place after the first day.

He closed out the tournament on day two with a third-round score of 76, tied for 32nd place with a tournament total of 219 and 6 over par.

“Thomas, his attitude in the game of golf is exactly what you need to be a good golfer,” said senior teammate Justin Doeden.

Junior Runar Arnorsson also had a consistent tournament. Arnorsson shot a 72 in his first round and scored a 73 in rounds two and three for a total of 218,five over par. He tied for 26th place.

“I thought it was pretty solid,” Arnorsson said. “I hit the ball really well, but it was a little bit of a grind for a few holes.”

Gophers veteran Justin Doeden made a big comeback during the tournament that ended with him earning the best final Minnesota mark of 216, three over par.

Doeden showed improvement with each round of the tournament. He shot a 74 and 73 in the first two rounds, which put him in a tie for 30th place.

Doeden came out strong on the second day to shoot a 69, two under par, and move up in the standings to finish tied for 20th overall. He had four birdies and two bogeys.

Though the team is just two meets into the season so far, performances like Doeden’s are what Carlson said the team hopes for and can look to for future improvement.“He’s just proving to be that leader that we need at the tournament each week,” Carlson said.