Evenson ties Lakeview course record

Dakota Wesleyan senior golfer Brett Abbotts didn’t have long to revel in the glory of having Lakeview Golf Course’s record all to himself.

He’s still at the top, but after Tyler Evenson’s round Tuesday, he has company.

Only a little over two weeks after Abbotts carded Lakeview’s first-ever 62 off the blue tees on April 19, Evenson, Abbotts’ sophomore teammate, matched him with his own 10-under-par 62. Evenson’s round came during practice for Dakota Welseyan’s upcoming trip to the NAIA national tournament.

“It’s perfect timing,” Evenson said. “I went through a bit of slump last week with the last GPAC qualifier, so I was a little down after that tournament. Shooting something like this really helps my confidence going into nationals.”

Evenson was six-under after the front nine, thanks in large part to a string of four straight birdies on holes three through six. Evenson finished the round with 10 birdies and eight pars.

“I thought about (the record) a little bit after the front nine,” said Evenson, a Lead native who said he came up a few strokes short of his only other bid at a course record, which was at Spearfish Canyon Country Club. “I went into the back thinking anything is possible and just tried to go out and post a good number.”

Evenson birdied four of the next six holes, including three in a row on 13, 14 and 15, and was even with the record at 10-under-par with three holes to go. However, Evenson pared 16, 17 and 18 to finish tied with Abbotts, and said he may have put a little pressure on himself on the final three holes.

“I still played aggressively, but those were a couple holes where my putts didn’t fall,” Evenson said. “The last hole, I had about a 20-footer for birddie, and my thoughts were just to nudge up there and not blow it by three or four feet.”

Prior to Abbotts’ and Evenson’s record-setting rounds, four golfers had carded 64s on the blue tees at Lakeview. Those rounds belonged to Nick Gates, also a DWU golfer, Brandon Sigmund, Aaron Hieb and Jim Wilson.

Evenson and his DWU teammates will be at the NAIA national tournament May 19-22 in Silvis, Ill.

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