On Sept. 28, 2025, Buena Vista University’s men’s golf team traveled to Waverly, Iowa, to compete in the Wartburg College Fall Invite. The Beavers placed second with a final-round score of 285, which set a new school record. One athlete led the weekend with a historic individual performance.
Senior Matthew Turpen of Overland Park, Kansas, “carded an even-par 72 on Saturday and was the leader of the pack for the Beavers all weekend, capping it off by firing a 5-under 67 over the final 18 holes, which is the program’s lowest individual 18-hole score in at least the last 32 years,” according to the BVU Athletics website. “His 36-hole mark of 139 is also the lowest over the last three decades.”
Director of Golf Operations Joseph Powell said Turpen’s performance highlighted not only his athletic ability but his maturity under pressure.
“I am extremely proud of Matthew ‘Turp’ in how he handled himself during the Wartburg Fall Invite,” Powell said. “As he finished up his round the first thing I mentioned to him was how solid, mentally tough and mature he seemed all day. While opening up the tournament with a solid round of 72 was nice, to be able to come back even stronger and shoot a -5 round of 67 with zero bogeys takes something special. We always talk about playing at a more mature level than what we are age-wise. Turp definitely did that during the event, and I really hope it gives him a ton of confidence heading into his senior conference season.”
Turpen finished second overall, three strokes behind the tournament champion. The BVU Athletics website reported that “Josh Reed held the previous low-round score of 68, set in 2008–09,” making Turpen’s round a 17-year program record.
Turpen explained he wasn’t focused on the record going into the tournament.
“When we were playing the tournament, I had no idea about the record, we hadn’t had those numbers on hand with us,” Turpen said.
He added that he did not find out about the record until after the tournament. He mentioned how his coach prefers to keep things “low” during tournaments in order for the team to focus on their performances.
“I was playing really well so I knew that it was going to be a good score, but my main goal while I was playing was to turn in a good score to help the team beat our conference opponents.”
The record wasn’t confirmed until a few days later. “When we were in the clubhouse after the round, I was talking to my coach, and he was saying that he had a good feeling that my score that weekend would definitely break the record,” Turpen said. Following his record-breaking performance, Turpen is looking to carry this success into his final season in the spring.
“Even with no records in sight, we are going into the spring season which is when we will have our conference tournament.,” Turpen said. “I definitely have my eyes on an all-conference top-ten finish, but I’m aiming to win that tournament and hopefully get to nationals.”
