The Lakeland men’s golf team won the Marian University Golf Invite on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11-12, at Whispering Springs golf course in Fond Du Lac, Wis. The tournament win was Lakeland’s first since the 2008 UW-Sheboygan tournament at The Bull at Pinehurst Farms.

The Muskies posted a combined score of 319 on Saturday and 325 on Sunday for a total team score of 644. Junior Gary Petit placed first in the invite with a two-day score of 152, just three strokes ahead of Carroll University’s Samuel Luedtke. Lakeland’s Ben Laubusch placed seventh, posting a two-day score of 158.

“Although we didn’t play as well on the back nine on Sunday as we did on Saturday, we played well enough to win,” said Bormann. “I’m really proud of our guys for putting themselves in that position and having the mental toughness to pull it out. We did a nice job managing our rounds, especially on the greens, which were rolling fast and were difficult at times.”

Bormann highlighted the improvement made since last season by Petit and Laubusch, who qualified for a state amateur tournament over the summer.

“Gary always had the skill to be successful at this level. He’s worked to refine his game and is a very confident player right now who believes he can win golf tournaments,” Bormann said. “Ben’s a very consistent player. He played a lot of competitive golf over the summer which I think has given him the belief that he can compete at top tournaments. They’ve both played in enough tournaments after two years in the program to know that, every time they tee up, they have a chance to win.”

Bormann said a newcomer to the program, junior Bobby Komorowski, will help the team this season.

“Bobby hits the ball a mile off the tee…once he becomes more consistent I think he’ll be able to compete in tournaments.”

Junior Brian Balistierri, sophomore Zack Mutsch, and freshmen Tyler Kubicek and Matt Bilinski are expected to contribute this season, Bormann said.

“It’s not realistic for any one team to expect to win the conference without challenges. Our guys are capable of playing well enough to win the title. We need things to fall into place but with high expectations anything can happen,” Bormann said.