NORTHFIELD, Minn. — If Eric Thom (Portland, Ore.) had his way, the Saint Mary's University men's golf team would play the Northfield Golf Course every week.

In fact, the entire SMU team might put that course down as their all-time favorite after last weekend's performance.

The Cardinals, led by Thom's second medalist performance in as many trips to the Northfield course, captured their first-ever tournament title, firing rounds of 319-314 to win the Carleton Invitational by four strokes over MIAC rival St. Olaf.

"This was a huge win, not only for this team, but for the SMU golf program in general," said SMU coach Tom Farren, whose team placed third in last year's Carleton Invitational. "The guys are pretty pumped, and they should be — we finally were able to put two good rounds together."

Thom was the most consistent of all the Cardinals, posting rounds of 74-73 en route to his medalist total of 147. Jamie Knudtson (Austin, Minn.) chipped in a 162 (83-79), followed by D.J. Schweitzer (McHenry, Ill. / 76-88—164), Tom Johnston (St. Paul, Minn. / 86-78—164) and Andrew Alvarez (Ogden, Utah / 90-84—174).

"This is exactly the kind of performance we needed heading into the final two weeks of the season,' said Farren, whose team will take part in the three-day Twin Cities Classic this weekend, before closing out the season at the MIAC Championships Nov. 5-6. "I think this tournament showed the guys what they are capable of accomplishing when they play up to their abilities. Hopefully this is a sign that we've finally turned the corner."