Sammy Schmitz shot a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday to cruise to a six-stroke victory at the Minnesota Golf Champions tournament at Dellwood Country Club.
Schmitz, noted for playing in the 2016 Masters, became the first amateur to win the event since Clayton Rask at Minneapolis Golf Club in 2005. He shot below par all three days for an 8-under 208 total. He had a 69 Friday and a 68 Saturday.
"I wanted to come out and do the same thing I did yesterday," Schmitz said Sunday. "I thought I was striking the ball really well all week."
Minnesota State Open champion and former Gopher Ben Greve finished second after a final-round 71.
Two more Gophers crowned at Big Tens
The Gophers won two individual titles on the third day of the Big Ten outdoor track and field championships in State College, Pa.
Emerald Egwim won the 400-meter dash in 52.39 seconds, helping the women's team finish in second place. The Gophers also were second in the 100 hurdles (Kimberly Golding), 4x100 relay and shot put (Kiley Sabin).
Luca Wieland won his fourth conference championship overall and his first in the men's high jump with a mark of 7 feet, 2 ½ inches for the seventh-place Gophers.
Jon Tollefson set a Gophers record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.79 — good for fifth place.
Purdue won the women's title, and Penn State won the men's crown.
U baseball drops series finale
The Gophers baseball team, playing the third of eight games in nine days to close the regular season, lost to No. 10 Long Beach State 9-1 at Siebert Field.
The Gophers (30-17, 12-6 Big Ten) used eight pitchers as they try to preserve arms and make a run at the Big Ten regular-season title. They have a home doubleheader against Rutgers on Tuesday and single home games against Purdue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
U football recruit decommits
Junior Uzebu, a 6-6, 288-pound offensive lineman from Alpharetta, Ga, announced he is de-committing from the Gophers football team.
Two MIAC softball teams in final 16
MIAC softball teams and St. Paul neighbors St. Thomas and St. Catherine will meet the NCAA Division III Super Regionals after winning regional championships Sunday.
The Tommies and Wildcats will play a best-of-three series this week at St. Catherine with the winner moving on to the eight-team finals in Oklahoma City.
St. Catherine (36-12) won four games in the double-elimination tournament after losing Friday. The Wildcats topped it off with 2-1 and 6-5 victories over Luther on Sunday. In the finale, Luther scored four runs in the top of the seventh for a 5-4 lead, but St. Catherine won it with RBI singles by Amber Montero and Jenna George in the bottom of the inning. Montero was 4-for-4 with three RBI.
St. Thomas (37-9) went 3-0 in the Pella, Iowa, regional, beating Coe 12-8 to advance to the Super Regionals.
Winona State softball loses regional final
The Winona State softball team fell one victory short at the Division II Central Region I tournament in Searcy, Ark. The Warriors beat Harding 3-2 on Sunday but lost the rematch 4-3, giving the Lady Bisons the title. Harding will play host to Minnesota State Mankato in a best-of-three Super Regional beginning Thursday.
Division II, III baseball pairings released
Minnesota State Mankato is seeded second and St. Cloud State third in the eight-team Division II baseball regional in Emporia, Kan. In Division III, St. Thomas is seeded sixth and Macalester is seventh at the eight-team regional in Whitewater, Wis.
