NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Forgive App State Men's Golf junior
Herman Huus for not having much of a reaction or even knowing the stakes.
Huus didn't take the outright lead Tuesday until he had one shot remaining in the Surf Club Invitational. By that point, all he had left was a short par putt, which gave him the tournament title instead of forcing a playoff.
The combination of a greeting from head coach
Alan Cress by the flagstick, followed by a gathering of teammates just off the green, revealed the breaking news. Leading the host Mountaineers to a second-place finish in the 17-team field, Huus recorded the first collegiate victory of his career by finishing at 5 under with a 68-69—137 total on the par-71 layout.
According to the digital live scoring, he was tied for first with Iona's Sean Richards as they approached their final holes: the par-3 18th for Huus and the par-3 third for Richards. The live scoring still showed them tied after Huus ran a mid-range birdie putt a few feet past the hole, but many in the crowd around the 18th green were aware that Richards' bogey had posted by the time Huus addressed his ball for the final stroke.
Huus, who was three shots off the lead at the turn Tuesday, reached 5 under with a birdie at No. 15 and closed with three straight pars for a 1-under 34 on the back nine. After former teammate
Addison Beam won the 2024 Surf Club Invitational on the first playoff hole, Huus gave the Mountaineers a second straight medalist at the Surf Golf & Beach Club. Richards and Longwood's Scott Jordan tied for second at 4 under.
As a team, App State briefly held the outright lead during a sunny final round of the 36-hole event, which was limited to 18 holes of play during a cold, rainy Monday. The Mountaineers were still tied for the top spot late on the final day, but Longwood ended up winning the team title at 1 under, three strokes ahead of the Mountaineers' 2-over total of 284-286—570.
Ben Read (tie for sixth with a 1-under total of 71-70—141) and
Alex Martin (tie for 10th with an even-par total of 70-72—142) gave App State three top-10 finishers in the 108-player field. Playing as an individual,
Aidan Browning tied for 17th with a 2-over total of 72-72-144.
With both the rainy and sunny rounds played in windy conditions, birdie putts of 9 feet, 30 feet and 4 feet on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes Monday enabled Huus to claim a share of the lead entering the final round.
Less than a month ago, opening the spring schedule at the Wexford Intercollegiate in South Carolina, Huus was a few strokes ahead of the field during the second of three rounds and began the final round as the co-leader before fading to a tie for 14th place. He remained steady Tuesday, even as a competitor's score of 7 under topped the leaderboard. By the time Huus reached 5 under for the first time with a birdie at No. 11, he was within one of the lead.
Rob Bergevin and
Colin Browning both shot final-round 75s to tie for the fourth-best mark toward the team score Tuesday. Individually, another highlight was
Josh Buxbaum's opening-round 72.
The 2024-25 season is presented by Hound Ears Club.
