Saint John's golf opens its long-awaited 2020-21 season with a noon dual against Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday, April 10, at Lynx National G.C. in Sauk Centre. The Johnnies then travel to compete against No. 22 Gustavus Adolphus and No. 20 St. Thomas in a triangular at 10 a.m. Sunday, April 11, at Emerald Greens G.C. in Hastings. – Live Results (Saturday) | Live Results (Sunday)

SPECTATOR POLICY: Spectators are allowed, but they must stay with the group they are following and practice social distancing of six fee from other family units and maintain 15 yards of distance from the student-athletes.

-Masks are required at all times.

-Spectators must stay even with or ahead of play, in the rough and off fairways to encourage pace of play.

-Fans may not congregate and/or socialize with each other or the student-athletes during or after the round.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE: This weekend's competition is the first for the Johnnies since the 2019 Golfweek Division III Preview held Oct. 13-15, 2019, in Destin, Fla., due to the COVID-19 pandemic - a span of 543 days.

MEET WHITLOCK: After 28 years, Bob Alpers '82 will be relinquishing his position as the Johnnies' head golf coach to focus on his duties as the Johnnies' athletic director. Alpers has named assistant coach Michael Whitlock, who joined the program prior to the 2018-19 season, as his successor.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Whitlock started playing golf at age 15 and turned professional at age 18. He spent the better part of 17 years playing and teaching golf all over the world until 2007. 

Whitlock moved to Minnesota in 2008 and is currently the head of instruction at the Johnnies' home course, Blackberry Ridge G.C. in Sartell, where he helped open a full indoor and outdoor teaching academy in 2021. Whitlock and his wife, Melissa, have three sons and live in Sartell. In their spare time, they foster special needs animals for the Humane Society. 

SENIOR CLASS: Four seniors - Preston Kopel (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Foley), Max Labine (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral), Esten Stensrud (Glenwood, Minn./Minnewaska Area) and Charlie Stuck (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) - return for the Johnnies. 

In the team's last competition, the 2019 Golfweek Division III Fall Invitational, Kopel led the Johnnies with four birdies and an even-par 71 in the final round. He averaged 75.1 in 17 rounds and finished third with a 221 (+4) at the 2019 MIAC Championship for his first All-MIAC honor. 

Stuck tied for the Johnnies' best score in Fall 2019, a 69 (-3) at the Pioneer Creek Invitational, and averaged a 76.3 in 17 rounds. He tied with David Schneider '20 for eighth place at the 2019 MIAC Championship for his first All-MIAC distinction.

Stensrud averaged a 76.4 in 11 rounds and finished the 2019-20 season strong by tying for 17th out of 103 golfers at the 2019 Twin Cities Classic. LaBine tallied a 76.9 scoring average in eight rounds, highlighted by a strong showing at the Saint John's Fall Invitational, where he shot 148 (75-73) and tied 13th out of 120 golfers.

LATEST NATIONAL POLL: SJU dropped from No. 22 out of the top 25 in the most recent Bushnell Golfweek Division III Coaches' poll released March 26, but is still receiving votes. St. Thomas also fell, from No. 9 to No. 20, and Gustavus from No. 13 to No. 22.

THE REST OF THE SCHEDULE: Following Saturday's dual against the Cobbers, the Johnnies hit the road for a pair of meets hosted by Gustavus Adolphus, Sunday's triangular and the Gusties' annual spring invitational April 18-19. SJU hosts its spring invitational April 24-25 and the MIAC Championship is set for April 30-May 2 at Emerald Greens G.C. in Hastings.

WHO'S PLAYING?: SJU's lineup for Saturday is listed below, in alphabetical order. There is no order, as in the usual Nos. 1-5, as schools will be playing as full teams in each group (Group 1 at noon: SJU Red, Group 2 at 12:10 p.m.: Concordia, etc.). Saturday's results will likely impact the Johnnies' roster for Sunday's triangular against the Gusties and Tommies.

Red: Thomas Gutzmer, Preston Kopel, Nate Loxtercamp, Glavine Schugel, Esten Stensrud

Blue: Joe Abdo, Sam Berger, Max LaBine, Cameron Lemke, Charlie Stuck

Individuals: Nate Bauer, Isaac Burgess, Jack Doyle, Thomas Ellis, Jack Engels, Max Thelen

SJU'S SCORING RECORDS AT LYNX NATIONAL: Sam Olson '18 set the Johnnies' course record with a 4-under par 68 the last time SJU competed at Lynx National G.C. on April 22, 2018. Sunday's triangular will be the first competition for SJU at Emerald Greens G.C., which will also serve as the site of this spring's MIAC Championship. The three teams will play the silver course, which is designed as a par 73, but a par-5 hole will be converted to a par-4 for a par 72 on the scorecard.

-4 - Sam Olson, Klinkner Classic (April 22, 2018)
-3 - Casey Vangsness, St. Cloud State Dual (April 26, 2013)
-2 - Dennis Granath, St. Cloud State Dual (April 26, 2013)
-2 - Jon Koenig, Klinkner Classic (April 23, 2018) 
-1 - Preston Kopel, Klinkner Classic (April 23, 2018)
-1 - Austin Kottke, Klinkner Classic (April 22, 2018)   
-1 - Drew Lynch, St. Cloud State Dual (April 26, 2013)  

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia returns four golfers that recorded scores in the fall half of the 2019-20 season. Seniors Tyler Bossert and Mason Opheim, and junior Nate Longtin played all 14 rounds, while junior Ryan Paskey completed four. Opheim shot the team's second-lowest round of the year, a 69 (-3) in early September, and averaged a 76.1 to lead the returners: Bossert (76.9), Longtin (78.4) and Paskey (79.8). The Cobbers ended the fall with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 MIAC Championship with a team score of 914 (+50).  

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: No. 22 Gustavus Adolphus opened its season with a senior-free roster April 2-3 at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational, where it tied for sixth with a 617 (+41). Junior Jacob Pedersen, the 2018-19 MIAC Freshman and Player of the Year, led GAC with a sixth-place finish (+3, 78-69) and was named the MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week. He averaged a 72.6 in 12 rounds, including six rounds at par or better, for the Gusties in Fall 2019. Another notable returnee is sophomore Wyatt Wasko, who tied for 18th with a 153 (+9, 74-79) at the season-opening tournament. He averaged a 78.1 in nine rounds with one top-five finish in 2019-20. 

A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: No. 20 St. Thomas was destined for the 2020 NCAA Division III Tournament, thanks to its 14-shot win at the 2019 MIAC Championship, but the COVID-19 pandemic ended the spring season before it started. UST, which averaged a 291.8 as a team in 2019-20, returns its top four golfers (relative to stroke average) and five of the top six. Senior Emmet Herb, the 2019-20 MIAC Player of the Year, led the MIAC with a 71.4 average in 18 rounds two falls ago. Junior Ben Frazzini posted a 73.7 stroke average in 15 rounds, followed by sophomore Matthew Raab (74.0 in eight rounds), junior Jack Nasby (74.5 in 15 rounds) and senior Peder Larson (75.4 in 18 rounds).