By Rob Garcia
Every stroke truly counted for Academy of Art Men’s Golf as the Urban Knights emerged tournament winners of the Notre Dame de Namur Invitational following the tournament’s final round on March 10 at the Poppy Ridge Golf Course. Junior music production major Julius Kreutzer’s second-place finish and junior graphic design major Otto Homruen’s 2-under 70 third round were among numerous highlights as three ART U golfers completed the last round shooting par or under.
“I couldn’t be happier for this team,” said head coach Andy Moren. “They have worked so hard for this moment. They stayed positive and never stopped believing they could perform well enough to win. It has been a great moment for this program and these guys. It was worth the wait!”
Starting the day just two strokes out of first place, Academy of Art (876) grabbed hold of the top position early on Tuesday then dramatically fended off Dixie State (877) as Cal State East Bay (822) faded from the number one spot to third. Shooting a tournament-high 45 birdies on the day, the Urban Knights got the day’s best round from Homruen whose 2-under 70 made up his best 18 holes, giving him 20th individually at 225 (75-80-70).
Remaining consistent throughout all three rounds, Kreutzer closed strong with a 1-under 71 and claimed second overall with a 216 (71-74-71). The pair of senior communications and media technologies majors Gabriel De Leon Manotoc and Matthew Watkins ended the tournament both tied for seventh sporting final combined totals of 219 which they achieved in rather different ways. Manotoc (75-69-75) had his best round come at the close of the first day while Watkins (75-72-72) stayed even across the final two rounds.