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Men's Golf 3/4/2026 1:47:00 PM Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

Men's Golf Stumbles on Day Two of Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff

WESLEY CHAPEL, Flo. -- The NMU men's golf team completed round two of the Saddle Brook Spring Kickoff, adding four strokes to its total from yesterday and sliding down one position into fourth.

After an opening round +23, the 'Cats shot a second round +27, and were the only team to add strokes from rounds one to two.

Leading the way for the 'Cats was Jacob Daavettila, who shot a +4 with two birdies to bring his tournament total to +7, and is T5 as an individual. Daavettila opened his round +5 in his first nine holes before finishing his round -1, including firing home eight straight pars.

Harvey Ylitalo shot the third-best Wildcat round of the day at +8, and sits T8 as an individual at +10 for the tournament. Ylitalo carded ten pars.

The second-best Wildcat round of the day belonged to Levi Pennala, who shaved three strokes off his opening round +9 to shoot a second round +6, and sits T18 at +15 for the tournament. Pennala opened his round -1 thru six holes before a stretch of seven that saw him shoot +7.

Tyler Annala rounded out the team scoring at +9 for the day, giving him a two-round total of +19 to sit in 26th. Teammates Brady Badker (+12) and Arthur Ylitalo (+13) have two-day totals of +21 and +22 and sitting in 28th and 29th, respectively.

The third and final round concludes tomorrow, with tee times starting at 8:30 a.m. ET. Fans can follow along at Scoreboard by Clippd.

Round One

Chasing the top of the individual leader board after round one was the duo of Harvey Ylitalo and Jacob Daavettila, who finished round one at +2 and +3, good for T2 and 5th while just one and two strokes off the leader.

Ylitalo opened his round with a bogey on 16 before shooting +5 in his first eight holes. Ylitalo carded a par on the par-three sixth to open a stretch that saw him shoot -3 in his final 10 holes, finishing his day at +2 and one shot back of the lead.

Daavettila played consistently through his opening 11 holes, shooting -1 with three birdies before a bogey on 10. Daavettila was in the lead with with three holes to go in his round, but a bogey on 14 and double-bogey on his last led him to finish at +3 and two strokes back of the lead.

The rest of the team shot well also, as Arthur Ylitalo, Brady Badker, and Levi Pennala all shot +9, and Tyler Annala carded a +10.

Saddlebrook Resort played as a 6,728-yard par-71, with the field averaging a score of 80.17. The 'Cats led the field in par three scoring (+8, 3.33 avg.) and were second in par four scoring (+32, 4.48 avg.). NMUs 10 birdies and 57 pars were also both second-best among the field, and their 32 bogeys and 9 doubles+ were second-fewest and fewest.

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Annala: 6' 0"; Senior

Brady Badker: 5' 10"; Senior

Levi Pennala: Sophomore

Arthur Ylitalo: 5' 11"; Junior

Harvey Ylitalo: Freshman

Jacob Daavettila: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tyler Annala
: 6' 0"; Senior

Brady Badker
: 5' 10"; Senior

Levi Pennala
: Sophomore

Arthur Ylitalo
: 5' 11"; Junior

Harvey Ylitalo
: Freshman

Jacob Daavettila
: Freshman