Going into the final round of the St. John’s Invitational holding a 16-stroke lead, the UW-Eau Claire men’s golf team fell one shot shy of setting a school record with a final day score of 286.

The men won the tournament by an astounding 26 strokes.

The final round score of 286 for the ‘Golds was one stroke short of the school record set at the MSU-Mankato Invitational in April 2000.

“We played great,” coach Todd Oehrlein said. “It was a great way to start the season. Our guys were prepared.”

In his six years at Eau Claire, the ‘Golds went to nationals four times and won the tournament in 2001.

Oehrlein also collected numerous individual awards in 2001, as he was named the Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches of America Association and Golfweek.

Oehrlein sees this year’s team as one of the strongest he has coached ever.

“The depth with this group is unbelievable,” he said. “We have a very competitive and tight-knit team.”

This season’s team has many familiar faces back from last year. Some new recruits and transfers will make the competition for the fifth spot very interesting, Oehrlein said.

Senior Ryan Quinn, who shot a collegiate tournament personal best of 68 Saturday, will lead the team, along with fellow seniors Mark Christensen and Bill Conroy.

Junior Andy Smith will play a large role as well.

Though the top four spots are basically sealed, the fifth and final spot is very competitive, Oehrlein said.

“We need to find someone to settle into the fifth spot,” Oehrlein said. “Grant Lissick, Derek Pirkl, a transfer from the University of Wyoming, and Andy Dustan, a returning letter-winner for us, will all compete for the spot.”

That is not to say that some of the freshmen will not challenge them,”Oehrlein said.

Quinn, who won the Wisconsin Amateur Tournament this summer, is equally excited about this year’s squad.

“I think that we are a lot stronger than last year,” Quinn said. “We have a bunch of guys back and our freshmen are good. This should be a very good year for us.”

With this much talent and experience on its side, Oehrlein said doing the little things is what will make this team great – not just good.

“Our biggest thing this year will be playing with consistency,” Oehrlein said. “If we are playing our best and consistently, there are only a few teams that can compete with us.”

Overall, the Blugolds shot a two-day total of 578 in the St. John’s Tournament.

Behind Eau Claire was St. John’s with a total of 604. Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) took third at 619 and St. Thomas (Minn.) rounded out the leaders with a distant 623.

Next up for the men is the Frank Wrigglesworth Blugold Collegiate Saturday and Sunday at the Eau Claire Golf and Country Club.

“The tournament is outstanding,” Oehrlein said. “Four of the top seven teams in the nation will be there. It will be very competitive.”