LAKEWOOD, CO- The defending National Champions began their title defense at Bear Creek Golf Club September 9-10 in the Writz at Mile High. In a historically dominant performance, the team shot an incredible 34 under par to claim the team victory while Adam Duncan won the individual title by going 16 under par over the three rounds of play. 

ROUND ONE 
Duncan began the first round in excellent fashion and never looked back, throwing down a 65 as the senior sunk eight birdies and went -4 on the back nine to jump into first on the leaderboard. Graduate transfer Sangha Park showed why he was ranked #1 in all of division II last season, firing a 66 with four birdies and an eagle on 14 as he posted a bogey free round. Sungyeop Cho came next as he carded a 70 with five birdies to finish his first round at CCU. Xavier Bighaus posted a 76, while Ben Fowler matched his teammate with a 76 as well. 

Bradley Mulder led the individuals with a 75 on three birdies, while Peyton Jones matched him with a 75 of his own. Camron Reddell made his return to the team with an 82 to close the first round. 

ROUND TWO
The teams turned around and began round two right after the first round on day one, and Duncan was strong yet again with a 70. Cho scored the best on his team in round two, firing a 68 as he moved to six under par after two rounds. Park shot a 74, while Bighaus finished even par with a 72. Fowler finished with a 79 as the day came to a close for the starting five. 

Mulder continued to excel, carding a 70 in round two to climb the leaderboards. Jones shot a 75, while Reddell posted an 81. 

ROUND THREE 
The final day was an impressive one from the Cougars as they showed why they are the preseason #1 team in the nation. Duncan proved he is one of the best golfers in the country, carding another 65 as he claimed a convincing victory at -16 over three rounds of play. Cho claimed second place overall, firing off a 66 for his lowest round of the tourney to finish -12. Park nabbed third place with a 69 as the Cougars took the top three spots on the leaderboard. Bighaus closed the tournament strong, shooting a 69 as he climbed to seventh place overall. Fowler finished with a 77 as he came in a tie for 26th. 

Mulder closed with the fourth best score on his entire team, netting a final round 69 as he took sixth place, giving CCU five players in the top seven. Jones shot a 76 to claim a tie for 13th, while had a great day with a 72 to tie for 32nd. 

As a team, the Cougars shot a total of 830 (277, 284, 269) as they went 19 under par on the last day to finish at 34 under overall. The team came just three strokes from tying their best three round score of -37 which they set last season in Arizona. A bit of history occurred on Tuesday in Lakewood as the Cougars took down their nearest competitor by 57 strokes, an NCAA record for largest margin of victory. The team that won it all last year showed no signs of slowing down as they completely overwhelmed their competition and showed that they are the team to beat this season. 

With their first tournament win of the season in hand, the Cougars will get a look at the course the National Championships will be held next May as they take part in the National Championship Preview at The Champion Golf Course in Palm Beach Gardens, FL September 22-24.