Bruins finish second at Frontier Championship
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Thomas Gatlin was the top Bruin finisher, placing third to lead the Bellevue University men's golf team to a second place finish at the 2026 Frontier Conference Championship, held at the 6,662-yard, par-72 Papago Golf Club.
Rocky Mountain College took home the team title following a 9-over final round. Bellevue finished second at 32-over. The Bruins made things interesting early in the day, erasing over half of Rocky's 23-stroke advantage to pull within 10 shots of the lead. The Battlin' Bears finished the event +10 (874) with BU checking in at +32 (896). Mayville State finished third at +65 (929).
Kristjan Burkelca maintained his lead, shooting 1-under 71 on the day to secure the individual title. He finished 4-under (212) for the tournament, finishing three strokes ahead of teammate Sam Norman (215).
Four of Bellevue's five golfers recorded top 10 finishes, led by Thomas Gatlin in third. Ludwig Klingspor finished sixth and Dylan Rodgers and Randy Christiansen tied for ninth overall. Kyle Dale was 12th.
Gatlin fired a 3-over 75 on the day, making a trio of birdies, including back-to-back ones on No. 11 (146-yard, par 3) and No. 12 (304-yard, par 4). His other came on the 428-yard, par 3 No. 18. He climbed as high as second on the leaderboard following the back-to-back birdies. He finished the event at 5-over (221).
Klingspor matched his best round of the tournament with a 2-over 74 to shoot 9-over (225) for the tournament. He made a pair of birdies on the front – the 424-yard, Par. 4 No. 3 and the 206-yard, par 3 No. 8 – to shoot 1-under before parring six holes on the back.
Rodgers posted the low round of the day for the Bruins with a 1-under 71 to climb up the leaderboard and finish at 11-over (227). After shooting a 1-over on the front nine, he followed with a 2-under back nine that saw him birdie No. 11 and make eagle on the 545-yard, par 5 No. 15
Christiansen carded a 4-over 76 to finish 11-over (227). He made a pair of birdies on the back nine where he shot a 1-under 35, with the shots coming on the 505-yard, par 5 No. 10 and the 376-yard, par 4 No. 13.
Dale led all Bruins with four birdies on his way to a 4-over 76 final round that saw him finish 13-over (229). He birdied the 350-yard, Par. 4 No. 3, the 535-yard, par 5. No. 9, No. 10, and No. 15.
Following the tournament, the Frontier Conference recognized all of the individual and team award winners. BU's awardees are noted below.
Bellevue 2026 Frontier Conference Award Winners:
First Team All-Conference: Thomas Gatlin
First Team All-Conference: Dylan Rodgers
Second Team All-Conference: Randy Christiansen
Second Team All-Conference: Ludwig Klingspor
Second Team All-Conference: Kyle Dale
Champion of Character: Dylan Rodgers