MORTON — Marshall sophomore Luke Ehlers took advantage of some clear weather and quality course conditions at Dacotah Ridge Golf Club Monday afternoon to place fifth in the Big South Conference Boys Golf Championship.

Ehlers shot a 77 on the day and finished each of his final eight holes with a par or better, including a birdie on hole 13.

“When Luke started today, his game was a little shaky, but if there’s one thing Luke has proven over his varsity career is that he’s really good at grinding out his scores,” Marshall head coach Kari Ehlers said. “He has to make really tough pars and that’s what he did today.”

Factoring in the three Big South West tournaments throughout the season, Luke finishes the season seventh in the conference.

Right behind him, Sam Schwarz placed eighth in the conference. Schwarz shot an 81 to tie for 12th at Monday’s tournament, highlighted by a birdie on the par-five third hole.

The Tigers tied for third out of 12 teams at the tournament, totaling 332 strokes alongside Blue Earth Area and Windom Area.

“Our team score was not the score we had hoped it would be and I think really picking our games apart right now is the best thing we can do,” coach Ehlers said. “I think our team is struggling with committing to shots. We’re doubting ourselves and maybe not thinking through every shot as much as we should before every swing.

“My assistant coach and I really try to build the kids up for a five-hour round of golf. To play well for five hours, you really have to be emotionally stable and make sure you’re ready for the ups and downs of the game.”

The Tigers struggled in the short game on the day with Dacotah Ridge’s large, fast greens, Ehlers said, adding that there were a few holes that resulted in more putts than the team would have liked.

Luverne and St. Peter took the top two spots with 303 strokes and 307 strokes respectively. The two schools occupied all of the top four slots, with St. Peter’s Kaiden Brovold winning with a 1-under 71 and Anthony Nicolai tying Luverne’s Henry Hartquist for third. Luverne’s Brady Bork placed second with 73 strokes.

Jayden Manthei placed 32nd in the 71-golfer field for Marshall. After three straight bogeys to start the day, Manthei began to settle down, getting consecutive pars on holes four and five before getting a birdie on hole seven. His day put him in 15th on the season in the Big South.

Drew Parsons rounded out the Marshall scorers in 41st place with an 88 on the day. Parsons also found his swing later in the tournament, shooting a 9-over 46 in his first nine holes before settling down with a five-over 42 on the second nine.

Marshall finished fourth in the Big South final standings. The Tigers will return to competition on Thursday, May 25 at 9 a.m. when the compete in the 3AA Section Tournament at Oakdale Golf Club.

“What I tell the boys is that every guy on the varsity team as their own strengths and weaknesses. When we talk about being better, we need to worry about our own game and our own play,” coach Ehlers said. “They need to take the rest of this week and just really hone in on what we’re good at and what we need to improve on.”