Men's Golf 4/13/2026 10:05:00 AM Jack Belcher - Athletics Communications Assistant

PREVIEW: Men's Golf at GLIAC Championships

Marquette, Mich. -- The Northern Michigan University Men's Golf team is set to hit the course at The GLIAC Spring Championship hosted this year in Augusta, Michigan.

The tournament takes place at Stoatin Brae Golf Course at Gull Lake View Golf Resort, with the initial two-round tournament running from Thursday, April 16th, through the morning of Friday, April 17th. After the initial two rounds, there will be a four-team semi-final match play during the evening on April 17th.The Championship will culminate with a final round on Saturday, April 18th, where match play between the two remaining top teams will determine the GLIAC Champion.

Live scoring for the tournament can be found at Scoreboard by Clippd.

The field contains each of the nine GLIAC teams, with early favorites for the tournament likely to be GVSU (#1, #3), Wayne State (#2, #32), Ferris State (#8, #61), Davenport (#9, #64), and UW Parkside (#13, #95). Rankings from the 2025-2026 Spring season. (regional, national).

About the Course
Unlike any other championship golf course in Michigan, this emerald jewel sits at one of the highest points in Kalamazoo County and commands sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. In terms of play, Stoatin Brae is wide open, windswept, and fast & firm. Playing at 6742 yards from the tips, you'll have to shoot 71 for par at Stoatin Brae. This is a special course whose dramatic design inspires golfers to play their best.

Last Time Out:
The NMU men's golf team finished seventh of 12 teams at the UIU Men's Spring Invite.

After round one was canceled due to weather, teams took to the Sunnyside CC for round two, where the teams' 18-hole score would count as their tournament score.

NMU shot a +34 as a team to finish seventh. Quincy led the way at +24, followed by Augustana in second at +26, and Mary (ND) in third at +30. NMU was seventh in par three scoring (3.60), fifth in par four scoring (4.58), and T8 in par five scoring (5.55). NMU's three birdies were the fewest among the field, but its 48 pars were T1, matching only Mary, and its 26 bogeys were second-fewest.

The Wildcats got matching scores of +6 from Jacob Daavettila and Arthur Ylitalo, both of whom finished T6 as individuals and just four strokes back of the lead (+2).
Harvey Ylitalo was also among the leaders, as he finished T15 at +8, just two strokes back of his teammates.
Brady Badker competed as an individual, shooting a +10 with seven pars and a birdie on the par-three fourth.

Levi Pennala shot a +14 with a birdie on the par-four 18th, and Tyler Annala rounded out the 'Cats with a +18 with six pars.

Last Season at the GLIAC Championship
The NMU men's golf team concluded its time at the 2025 GLIAC Championships, finishing 8th overall with a two-day total of +19. The Wildcats finished 10 strokes behind Parkside (+9) and nine strokes ahead of Purdue NW (+28). Despite the great outing from the team, the 'Cats did not make the top four.

For the tournament, the 'Cats played the par threes at +13 (10th), the par fours at +33 (8th), and the par fives at -3 (9th). NMU recorded 20 birdies (T8), 104 pars (T8), 50 bogeys (1st), and 6 double bogey+ (T4).

Arthur Ylitalo finished the tournament strong and in T16 overall with a two-day total of +2. Finishing out the team scoring was Tyler Annala at T17 overall.

Weather Forecast - At the time of writing, the weather in Augusta calls for around a 45% chance of rain on the three days of competition. Temperatures on Thursday and Friday look to be in the low-70s, while temperatures will drop to the High-50s on Saturday. NMU will look to battle through the potentially rainy conditions to a strong finish.

Notes on the Field/Seasons Reviewed:

GVSU - The Lakers began the season as the top team in Division Two and have not missed a beat since, as they are currently first in the Midwest and third in the country after a string of impressive performances. GVSU secured tournament victories in the Greenwood Men's Invitational and Ken Partridge Invitational. They tied for second in the Bobcat Invitational and finished fifth at the Tennessee River Rumble.
- GVSU has been led throughout the season by a trio of nationally top-25-ranked members. Bryce Wheeler ranks 23rd in the country and first in the region, securing an overall victory at Greenwood and three subsequent top-20 performances, including 12th overall at the Ken Partiridge Invitational. Ranked 24th in the nation and second in the region is Manuel Cue, who secured an overall victory at the Ken Partridge Invitational. He also finished in sixth at the Bobcat Invitational. Round out the top-25 in the country is Andrew Gwilliams, who has finished top-10 in each of his four tournaments this Spring, including finishing third at the Tennessee River Rumble.
Wayne State - Currently the second-highest-ranked team in the GLIAC and the Midwest, the Warriors have been buoyed by a strong string of finishes, including winning the Pawley's Island Beach Bash, finishing in fifth at the Findlay Spring Invitational, and second at the Balterra Classic.
- Wayne State has been led by Andrew Daily and Josh Lahner this season. Daily is in the top 150 nationally and ranks tenth in the region. He has finished in the top-15 in each of the three tournaments he has competed in, including 6th at the Balterra Classic. Lahner has been equally strong and is in the top-200 nationally this season as he won the Pawley's Beach Bash, which skyrocketed him up a whopping 160 spots. Additionally, he finished fifth at the Balterra Classic and top-20 at the Findlay Spring Invitational.
Ferris State - The Bulldogs currently sit eighth in the region and have saved their best performances for the tail-end of the season as they finished second at their last two tournaments at both the Findianapolis Intercollegiate and the Ken Partridge Invitational. Additionally, they were 13th at both the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate and the Tennessee River Rumble. They finished seventh at the Ralph Hargett Memorial Intercollegiate
- Ferris State has been led by Ben Miller, who ranks 27th in the region this season. Miller's best performances were 13th at the River Rumble and 12th at the Findianapolis Intercollegiate.
Davenport - Davenport opened their season with a victory at the Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff. They followed that up by finishing third at the SVSU Invitational, sixth at the Spring Flyer Invitational, and seventh at the Ken Partridge Invitational.
- Davenport has been led by Cayden Kwan (12th in the region) and Chen-Shiuan(Louis) Wu (41st in the region). Kwan won the Saddlebrook Kickoff, finished runner-up at the SVSU Invitational, and finished top-25 in his two most recent tournaments. Wu finished second at Saddlebrook and was top-30 in his two subsequent performances before struggling at the Ken Partridge.
UW Parkside - The Rangers are ranked 95th in the nation and 13th in the region this season as they have struggled to open their Spring season. The Rangers finished eighth and ninth at the SVSU and Findlay Spring Invitations, respectively. They finished fourth at the Flyer Spring Invitational and 14th at the Ken Partridge Invitational.
- Shane Stanley (ranked 45th in the region) has been leading the way for the Rangers throughout the season. Stanley finished 10th at the Flyer Invitational in his best season performance. He finished 23rd at SVSU and in the top-60 at his two other competitions.
SVSU - The Cardinals opened their season by finishing second at the Saddlebrook Spring Invitational. They finished fifth at their own Spring Invitational but struggled in their most recent tournaments, finishing ninth in both the Findlay Spring Invitational and the Findianapolis Intercollegiate.
- Evan Klein has led the Cardinals this season with two top-10 performances at Findlay and the SVSU Invitational. He finished top-45 in his other two competitions.
Purdue NW - The Pride comes into the GLIAC Tournament ranking 27th in the region. They opened the season strong, finishing sixth at the SVSU Invitational and eighth at the Dan Salisbury Memorial. They have struggled recently as they finished 10th at the Flyer Spring Invitational and 16th at the Ken Partridge Invitational.
- The Pride has been led by Maxwell Abel and Brody Pass, who both have a top-10 finish this year and have averaged finishes in the top-50 or better consistently.
Roosevelt - The Lakers are currently 29th in the region and have struggled recently. They finished ninth at SVSU, seventh at the Dan Salisbury Memorial and the Spring Flyer Invitational, and 18th out of 18 teams at the Ken Partridge.
- Ben Jones and Pierre Heylen (both ranked top-1000 nationally) have led the Lakers thus far this season. Both Jones and Heylen did their best at the Dan Salisbury, where both finished in the top-20. Both have averaged positions around 60th throughout the season.

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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