MIAC Champions! Men's Golf pulls away for 1st MIAC title; Ryan Choi takes medalist honors - Carleton College (2024)

MIAC Champions! Men's Golf pulls away for 1st MIAC title; Ryan Choi takes medalist honors - Carleton College (1)

David Pape

MIAC Champions!

Men's Golf

EDINA, Minn. – For the first time, the Carleton College men's golf team has been crowned MIAC Champions. The Knights won the 2024 conference tournament by 18 shots over a trio of nationally-ranked opponents. Ryan Choi and Sam Higaki fired matching 67s in the final round, with the former finishing the tournament at 4-under par (71-74-67=212) to take medalist honors while the latter (74-75-67=216) finished at even par to place third overall.

Justin Rodriguez (+9, 75-72-78=225) and Gordon Walker (+9, 73-76-76=225) tied for 11th and Dillon Croco (+15, 74-82-75=231) tied for 23rd. With the team title, the Knights clinched a bid to the 2025 NCAA Championships to be held May 20-23 at Midvale Country Club in Penfield, N.Y.

"We are so proud of this group of young men," said Carleton head coach Sloan Wallgren. "They are just simply amazing. It was a total team effort to get the win. Ryan Choi capped off his final MIAC appearance with a dominating win.

"We want to thank our administration, parents, the women's team, and alumni for all the support throughout the weekend. Your encouragement and motivation meant the world to us."

2024 MIAC Championships Team Standings

1 -- Carleton College (+10, 292-297-285=874)
2 -- (#16) Bethel University (+28, 297-305-290=892)
2 -- (#14) Saint John's University (+28, 297-304-291=892)
4 -- Concordia College (+35, 297-304-298=899)
5 -- (#24) Gustavus Adolphus College (+38, 298-307-297=902)
6 -- Macalester College (+71, 312-316-307=935)
7 -- St. Olaf College (+78, 308-311-323=942)
8 -- Augsburg University (+93, 311-325-321=957)
9 -- The College of St. Scholastica (+98, 324-324-314=962)

Carleton rejoined the MIAC in time for the 1983-84 season, and this is only the third time that the Knights have finished inside the top-5 at the MIAC Championships, with each of those performances coming over the last four seasons (see chart below). This is the 12th all-time conference title for the Knights, as the other 11 came while Carleton was a member of the Midwest Conference, with the most recent of those coming back in 1974 (the others were 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1959, 1960, and 1961.)

Carleton posted the lowest team score each day of this year's 54-hole tournament at Braemar Golf Course. After an opening round 292 gave the team a five-stroke lead, the Knights carded a 297 in the second round to widen their advantage to 12 shots heading into Monday's action.

The Knights' final-round score of 285 was the second-lowest in recorded MIAC Championships history and their 54-hole total of 874 ranks fourth-lowest in MIAC Championships history. Carleton's 18-shot margin of victory was the largest by a conference champion since 2016.

While the rest of the top-five teams at this year's championships tried to start fast in the final round to put pressure on the Knights—including 13 birdies on the front nine for No. 16-ranked Bethel University and 11 birdies and an eagle for No. 14-ranked Saint John's University—Choi and Higaki quickly put to rest any thoughts of letting those teams close the gap.

Choi drove the green on the day's first hole, a 369-yard par 4, and drained the putt for eagle. He added three more birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 32.

After a birdie on No. 4, Higaki used a 4-iron to record his second career hole-in-one on the 175-yard No. 5 and followed that up with an eagle on the par-5 No. 6. Another birdie on No. 8 gave Higaki a score of 30 on the front nine. He birdied two of the day's final three holes to conclude the tournament in style as he climbed five spots on the leaderboard during Monday's round.

Choi was tied with Christopher Gutuza of No. 24-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College atop the individual leaderboard through 15 holes. Both players birdied No. 16 before No. 17 saw Choi collect another birdie and Gutuza record a bogey. Choi birdied his third straight hole to finish the championship at -5 for the day and -4 for the tournament, good for a three-stroke margin of victory.

This was Choi's second career individual victory. The other came back during his rookie season, when he won the weather-shortened Bobby Krig Invitational. Choi is the first Knight to be medalist at the MIAC Championships and the 11th individual conference champion in program history, and the first in 44 years (see chart below).

The 67s that Choi and Higaki carded in the final round were the two lowest 18-hole scores by anyone in the field at any point during the tournment. By finishing inside the top-10, both were named to the All-Championship Team and will automatically earn All-Conference honors when postseason awards are announced in May.

Croco provided the Knights with a 75 in the final round, while Walker had five birdies on Monday to post a 76. Rodriguez had an eagle on No. 9 and a birdie on No. 16 and carded a final-round 78.

For the tournament, the Knights played the par 3s at a combined +27 as a team, four shots better than the next closest team. They were even better on the par 4s, going +28, for a 12-stroke margin. Carleton was a combined -26 on the par 5s. The Knights had 6 eagles, double the next-closest squad. Their 46 birdies ranked second-best, while they led with 146 pars. Carleton was able to limit the damage, easily finishing with the fewest bogeys in the field.

While it might not be Disney movie-esque, the Knights went through an impressive mid-season transformation.

"They just started having fun," said Wallgren, "and it all started to come together."

Three weeks ago, Carleton was eighth at the 13-team Saint John's Fall Invitational, finishing 40 shots behind the host Johnnies and coming in behind St. Olaf College, which ended up seventh at the 2024 MIAC Championships. The next weekend, Carleton beat Gustavus' second team, and the Knights continued to gain confidence. They then topped the 17-team field at the Twin Cities Classic a week ago, edging Bethel by a single stroke.

Seven days later, history was made.

"I am proud of what they have done this season, and I was happy to see their effort reflect into the result this weekend," said Carleton assistant coach Alyssa Akiyama. "We knew they could do it, and they, most importantly, believed in themselves to keep persevering through the tough conditions."

Carleton's lowest 18-hole round scores at MIAC Championships
285 (-3), third round, 10/7/2024 – Braemar Golf Course
292 (+4), first round, 10/5/2024 – Braemar Golf Course
294 (+6), second round, 10/2/2022 – Bunker Hills Golf Club
296 (+8), second round, 10/3/2021 – Bunker Hills Golf Club
297 (+9), second round, 10/6/2024 – Braemar Golf Course

Carleton's best team finishes at MIAC Championships
1st (+10, 874 – 54 holes) – 2024 – Braemar Golf Course
3rd (+38, 758 – 45 holes) – 2021 – Bunker Hills Golf Club
4th (+38, 902 – 54 holes) – 2022 – Bunker Hills Golf Club

Carleton men's golfers to be individual conference champions
1934 – Robert Hunt (Midwest Conference)
1935 – Robert Anderson (Midwest Conference)
1936 – Bill Leonard (Midwest Conference)
1937 – Paul Sampson (Midwest Conference)
1947 – Wally Ulrich (Midwest Conference)
1950 – Harlan Lidke (Midwest Conference)
1955 – Robert LeMay (Midwest Conference)
1961 – Walt Andrews (Midwest Conference)
1971 – Pete Hendrickson (Midwest Conference)
1980 – Scott Odgren (Midwest Conference)
2024 – Ryan Choi (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Choi

Senior

Sam Higaki

Sophomore

Justin Rodriguez

Sophomore

Gordon Walker

Junior

Dillon Croco

First-Year

Players Mentioned

Ryan Choi

Senior

Sam Higaki

Sophomore

Justin Rodriguez

Sophomore

Gordon Walker

Junior

Dillon Croco

First-Year
MIAC Champions! Men's Golf pulls away for 1st MIAC title; Ryan Choi takes medalist honors - Carleton College (2024)
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