T-Bird (M-Golf) in 6th After Round 1 of Nationals 

The NMC men's golf team is in sixth place after recording a 1-over team total of 289 in Round 1 of the 2025 NJCAA Men's Golf National Championship.

The T-Birds are five shots back of the first round leader Midland College. The No. 1 ranked Chaps opened the tournament with a 4-under 284. 

Second place is shared with Hutchinson CC and McLennan CC at 3-under, fourth place is Indian Hills at 1-under, and fifth place is Odessa College at even.  

Eli McNelly of North Idaho has the individual lead following a 6-under 66 in Round 1. He is two shots clear of second place.

Henry Drake led NMJC on Tuesday shooting an even-par 72 in Round 1 of NJCAA Men's Golf National Championship. The Englishman started his round on the back nine with a bogey on hole 10. Drake made four consecutive pars before turning on the light switch with three straight birdies from hole 15-17. A par on 18 had Drake with a 2-under 34 on the back.

Tree trouble on hole 2 lead to a double but Drake did get back to red figures with a birdie on the par-5 fourth. A bogey on seven dropped the sophomore to even and two pars to end his round had him in a tie for 18th place at even par. 

Jake Yrene was solid in his first action at nationals shooting an even-par 72 to sit in a tie for 18th place following Day 1. Yrene made one birdie and eight pars on his first nine holes to shoot 35 and head into the front nine at 1-under. The freshman bogeyed the par-5 second and then made birdie on the par-5 fourth to move back into red numbers. A bogey on seven dropped him down to even and he closed with two pars to finish T-18 at even par. 

Oliver Ruutu was the third T-Bird to record an even-par 72 in his opening round. Ruutu got off to a blazing start on the back making birdies on holes 11, 13, 15, and 17. The birdie on the par-3 17th was a 40-foot bomb up the hill.

The Finn began to struggle with a bogey on 18 that dropped him to 3-under for the day. Two more bogeys on hole No. 1 and No. 2 moved Ruutu to 1-under. A birdie on the par-5 fourth lifted him back to 2-under. However, bogeys on hole No. 6 and No. 9 moved Ruutu right where he started the day at even. The freshman ended Day 1 in a tie for 18th place.

Elias Pettersson had one of the steadier rounds of his career on Day 1 shooting a 1-over 73 which is tied for 28th after 18 holes. Pettersson made birdie on the par-5 16th hole and eight pars the rest of his opening nine to make the turn in 35 at 1-under. The Swede made six straight pars on his front nine but bogey missteps on hole No. 7 and No. 8 dropped the sophomore to 1-over as he finished with a par to shoot 73 in Round 1.

PJ Herron shot a 3-over 75 in Round 1 to sit in a tie for 48th place. The freshman had a nasty start to his first appearance at nationals with a double bogey on No. 10 as his first swing of the tournament went into the hazard. Herron recovered with birdies on 13, 15, and 16 to move into red figures. A bogey on 17 and a par on 18 had Herron at even making the turn to the front in 36 strokes.

The Victoria, Minnesota native tripled hole No. 1 to fall to 3-over. He came in at even the rest of the way with a birdie on No. 3 and a bogey on No. 7 to shoot a 3-over 39 on the front. Herron finished with a 3-over 75.        

Tee times for Round 2 are as follows from hole 10, Jake Yrene will tee off at 11:50 a.m CDT, Oliver Ruutu at 12 p.m. CDT, Henry Drake at 12:10 p.m. CDT, PJ Herron at 12:20 p.m. CDT, and Elias Pettersson at 12:30 p.m CDT.

T-Bird fans can follow the live scoring by clicking here and for live updates follow NMJC men's golf's Instagram @nmjc_mgolf.