“Coming back home, understanding people would come out and understanding the golf course would be in good condition was really helpful,” MSU coach Sam Puryear said. “I’m excited because a lot of guys who haven’t had the opportunity had an opportunity in the best qualifying situation you can ask for, and they did well.”

Rain suspended second-round play twice Saturday and the golfers finished most of their second round on Sunday morning. The third round was cut to nine holes, which were played on the back nine of the West course.

“(Saturday) was pretty tough with all the wind and whatnot,” Newman said. “Being able to battle through that was really good.”

Puryear said patience through the delay and the 45 holes was a key to Gniewek’s steadiness throughout the weekend in earning his second tournament victory of the season. He finished in a tie for first place at the UNC-Greensboro Bridgestone Invitational in October.

“It’s awesome,” Gniewek said. “To have all the support and family and friends come out, it’s really nice. Winning the Big Tens last year was really cool. That was as a team. Winning as an individual is a little different. It really helps my confidence going into next week.”

Gniewek shot a field-best 69 in the first round, 71 in the second round and 37 in the nine-hole third round. Newman shot 72, 71 and 35 in the three rounds and Ladwig shot 74, 72 and 33. Freshman Jimmy Dewling finished in a tie for fifth for MSU.

Newman could have made a push for a tie for first place with a birdie on his last hole Sunday, but Gniewek countered with one of his own.

“Birdying the last hole will always make you come back for more and for it to be for the win was awesome,” Gniewek said.

Ladwig improved his score from Friday to Saturday to three under par on Sunday.

“That’s huge for Laddy,” Puryear said. “We’ve been waiting for Ladwig to get comfortable with his driver. He stepped up. He’s worked his tail off to try to get to this point and try to prove he deserves this spot. The numbers don’t lie.”

Puryear said the team victory could not come at a better time for the Spartans, who were coming off an 11th-place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational last weekend and will travel to State College, Pa., next week for the Big Ten Championships.

“You hate to say a win doesn’t mean as much, but we needed something positive to happen after last week. I’m the last one to make excuses, but these guys were exhausted. The focus wasn’t there,” Puryear said. “The Fossum is one of the best things we can ever have right before Big Tens. It’s a great chance for these guys to rest, get a lot of reps, eat right, get focused, get lot of focus from the community and play well.”