Gatlin fifth, Bruins second through 36 holes of FC Championship
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Thomas Gatlin is fourth overall, five shots off the pace, for the Bellevue University men's golf team after Tuesday's first two rounds of play at the 2026 Frontier Conference Men's Golf Championship being played at the 6,662-yard, par-72 Papago Golf Club.
Rocky Mountain College holds the team lead after a 1-over 575 performance on Tuesday. They are 23 strokes ahead of BU (+24). Mayville State University (+46), Dickinson State University (+51), and Montana Tech (+58) round out the top five.
Gatlin produced matching 1-over 73s on Tuesday and, at 2-over, is just five shots behind the leader. Consistent throughout his rounds, he managed six birdies on the day to go along with 23 pars. He found birdies on No. 5 (328-yard, par 4), No. 9 (535-yard, par 5), No. 11 (146-yard, par 3), and No. 17 (214-yard, par 3) in the first round as well as on No. 10 (505-yard, par 5), and No. 15 (545-yard, par 5) in the second.
Rocky Mountain's Kristjan Burkelca is the overall leader at 3-under, surging in front with a 7-under second round. Teammates Nathan Piers (E) and Sam Norman (+1) are next with Aidan McDonagh in fifth at 3-over.
Ludwig Klingspor and Randy Christiansen are tied for seventh overall. Both Christian and Klingspor shot 74 in the opening round and followed up with second round 77s.
Klingspor made birdies on the 530-yard, par 5 No. 1 and the 304-yard, par 4 No. 12 in his first round and added birdies on No. 1, No. 9, and No. 15 in the second. He also bagged 21 par holes.
Christiansen made three birdies on the day, the 424-yard, par 4 No. 3 in the first round as well as No. 11 and No. 15 in the second. He also finished with 23 pars in his two rounds of play.
Kyle Dale rounds out the top 10 at 9-over after he shot 77-76 on the day. He was hot out of the gate, birdieing three of the first four holes – No. 13 (376-yard, par 4), No. 14 (360-yard, par 4), and No. 15. In the second round he added birdies on No. 1 and No. 10 to go along with a total of 19 pars on the day.
Dylan Rodgers completes the Bellevue lineup. He is tied for 14th at 12-over after shooting 76-80 on Tuesday. He made four birdies in the first round, doing so on No. 10, 15, 17, and 9 and adding another in the second on the 440-yard, par 4 No. 6. After a slow start to his second round, he finished strong with even par on the front nine to close out the day.
Final round play commences tomorrow with a 7 a.m. tee time. Bellevue's start times are as follows and the Bruins will begin on the back nine:
7:50 a.m. Dylan Rodgers
8:00 a.m. Kyle Dale
8:10 a.m. Ludwig Klingspor
8:20 a.m. Randy Christiansen
8:30 a.m. Thomas Gatlin
