96.9 The Jock ESPN Radio Springfield Missouri
SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. — Missouri State senior Hampus Wijkstrom birdied the last four holes and five of his last six Sunday (Apr. 21) to fire a five-under-par 67 and grab a share of the lead after the first round of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Golf Championship. Wijkstrom’s play paved the way for the Bears’ 285 team score, which has them in second place, seven shots off the lead, after the first day at The Club at Porto Cima.
MSU had four players in the top 16 in the first round as Ludvig Wijkstrom, Hampus’ younger brother, fired an even-par 72, and senior Max Kreikemeier and sophomore Christian Rischer each turned in a 73. Senior Eric Schuessler carded an 80 for the Bears. Hampus Wijkstrom is tied for the top spot with SIU’s Leon Heitz, while Ludvig is tied for ninth.
While SIU (278) and the Bears (285) hold down the top two spots, Valparaiso is third after posting 291, four better than Belmont (295) and five in front of Murray State (296). Bradley and Drake are tied for sixth at 297, with defending champ and pre-tournament favorite Illinois State (299), Evansville (300) and UNI (302) rounding out the standings.
Second-round play is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Monday off both nines, with MSU starting at 9:50 off no. 1 and grouped with SIU and Valparaiso.
Live scoring can be found at: https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=28687.
