Cats, Hopkins in First After Day One in Missouri
Apr 05, 2021 | Men's Golf
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Powered by junior Will Hopkins, the Kansas State men's golf team carded an 18-under par 558 over the first 36 holes on Monday to take hold of first place in the Missouri Tiger Invitational held at the par-72, 7,221-yard Club at Old Hawthorne.
The Wildcats hold a two-shot lead over homesteading Missouri with one round remaining thanks to Hopkins, who is in first place on the individual leaderboard. Hopkins, who played off for the final spot in the Wildcat scoring lineup on Saturday, tallied a first-round score of 8-under par 64, tied for the third-lowest round in school history and the lowest round by a Wildcat since Mitchell Gregson in 2008.
A product of Lincolnshire, England, Hopkins finished the day at 11-under par 133, one stroke ahead of the field.
"The guys all played really well today," head coach Grant Robbins said. "I thought we did a good job of taking care of the par 5s, and we did a good job of finishing off both rounds. We just have to continue to stay loose, stay with our process and go have some fun tomorrow."
Graduate student Jacob Eklund, who returned to the lineup following wrist surgery, tallied 6-under par 138 on the day and is in fifth place, just two strokes behind third. Sophomore Tim Tillmanns and junior Riccardo Leo both shot even-par 144 and head into the final round in a tie for 18th.
Sophomore Ryan Bender is in a tie for 29th after carding a 2-over par 146. Redshirt freshman Ethan Miller, who is making his K-State debut, shot 11-over par 155 and is in a tie for 63rd.
The final round of the Missouri Tiger Invitational tees off with a shotgun start at 8 a.m., and live scoring can be followed along at golfstat.com.
The Wildcats hold a two-shot lead over homesteading Missouri with one round remaining thanks to Hopkins, who is in first place on the individual leaderboard. Hopkins, who played off for the final spot in the Wildcat scoring lineup on Saturday, tallied a first-round score of 8-under par 64, tied for the third-lowest round in school history and the lowest round by a Wildcat since Mitchell Gregson in 2008.
A product of Lincolnshire, England, Hopkins finished the day at 11-under par 133, one stroke ahead of the field.
"The guys all played really well today," head coach Grant Robbins said. "I thought we did a good job of taking care of the par 5s, and we did a good job of finishing off both rounds. We just have to continue to stay loose, stay with our process and go have some fun tomorrow."
Graduate student Jacob Eklund, who returned to the lineup following wrist surgery, tallied 6-under par 138 on the day and is in fifth place, just two strokes behind third. Sophomore Tim Tillmanns and junior Riccardo Leo both shot even-par 144 and head into the final round in a tie for 18th.
Sophomore Ryan Bender is in a tie for 29th after carding a 2-over par 146. Redshirt freshman Ethan Miller, who is making his K-State debut, shot 11-over par 155 and is in a tie for 63rd.
The final round of the Missouri Tiger Invitational tees off with a shotgun start at 8 a.m., and live scoring can be followed along at golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
K-State Women's Golf | Carla Bernat ANWA Recognition
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Women's Golf | Behind The Scenes Photoshoot
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Men's Golf | Wildcat Invitational
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Men's Golf | Wildcat Invitational 2025 Recap
Thursday, September 11
