The University of St. Thomas men’s golf team made a 16-stroke comeback Tuesday in the final round to win the Golfweek Preview tournament in Sandestin, Florida.

The three-day event, held Oct. 11-13, included 13 teams ranked in the top 21 for Division-III men’s golf. Coach Scott Proshek said his team “found a way to finish on Tuesday.”

“Our kids … knew that even with 291 and 290 scores, which were pretty good from the first two days, they also knew they left some strokes out on the course,” Proshek said. “We had a couple talks on how to play some holes, especially the last hole, which we played six over par the first two rounds.”

The Tommies have a different look this year after graduating three of their starting five golfers, but Proshek credited his strong new talent for leading Tommie golf a long way this year.

“Six freshmen and transfers came in and set a tone and a culture that is different than anything we’ve seen before,” Proshek said. “They are very, very competitive, and they thoroughly enjoy playing golf and basically have stepped up everybody’s game.”

One of those impact players is sophomore Pete Seinko, a North Dakota State transfer. Seinko’s four-under 67 was the lowest round in Tuesday’s field of 90 players and was 11 strokes lower than his season-worst 78 on Monday. Seinko’s clutch finish allowed the Tommies to cruise from fifth to first place on the final day.

“Don’t know if I struggled mentally or what, but it wasn’t going well. But then on the back nine something clicked, and I brought it into today and kept working on it,” Seinko said. “We knew going out today that if we put up a good number, we’ll be up there.”

The comeback win was also supported by veteran clutch play from Nick Nielsen. The senior kept his game together after a triple bogey by making four birdies to get back to an even 71 on Tuesday.

“As a team, obviously, it was awesome. We came back and won on the last day,” Nielsen said. “It was an overall pretty good weekend for me, too. Other than a few bad holes that cost me, I probably could have been in it.”

The Tommies now are ranked No. 2 nationally by Golfstat.com, jumping 13 spots in three days. Prosek said he and the Tommies can enter the winter offseason with fond memories of the fall.

“I think the kids are glad it’s over and ended that way after those finishes,” he said. “Now they’ve got a long winter season to contemplate that win which is just fantastic.”

Jake Remes can be reached at reme7110@stthomas.edu.