KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Mizzou men’s golf opened the 2026-27 season with an eighth-place finish at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate on Tuesday, posting a three-round score of five-under at Fox Den Country Club.

Junior Trent Mierl led the Tigers with a top-10 finish, tying for eighth at four-under across all three rounds. After opening the tournament with rounds of 71 and 67, Mierl closed with a two-under 68 on Tuesday, carding three birdies and only one bogey in the final round.

“It was nice to start the season off strong. I played clean golf out there and gave myself a lot of opportunities,” Mierl said. “The team did a great job fighting out there, which is huge to see out of everyone. Overall, it was a solid week and a great chance to see how we stacked up against a strong field. We have a good feel for what we need to work on collectively.”

Mierl’s performance marked his seventh career top-10 finish, building on a sophomore campaign that included top-10 showings at the Moraine Intercollegiate, Tiger Intercollegiate and National Golf Invitational.

Senior Veikka Viskari and junior Paxton Maxwell finished tied for 23rd out of 96 golfers, scoring one-under across all three rounds. Maxwell carded a two-under 68 in the final round of his Mizzou debut, while Viskari posted a one-under 69.

Freshman Antoni Hawkins finished fourth on the team to round out scoring for the Tigers. During his collegiate debut, he scored consecutive rounds of 70, and finished with a three-over 73 on Tuesday.

“Our guys played well this week. It was a great event to start the year on a course that required patience and discipline,” head coach Glen Millican said. “It was good to see Trent start with a top-10 finish, while Veikka, Paxton and Antoni were all very solid all three rounds.”

Junior Andy Yang scored an even-par 70 during the final round, while senior Brock Snyder completed Mizzou's lineup with a one-over 71 performance on the tournament’s final day.

“It was very nice to see Brock and Andy play well today and post good final round scores,” Millican said. “Each guy can take a lot of positives from their play and identify a few areas they can continue to improve on. It was a really nice event and start to the season”

Mizzou's eighth-place showing came in a field featuring 12 power-conference programs, including seven SEC teams.

UP NEXT

The Tigers will return to action Sept. 13-15 at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational in Muskoka Lakes, Ontario.