FAIRMONT — Three tough holes sank the Fairmont Cardinals at the Cardinal golf invite Saturday at Rose Lake Golf Club.

St. Peter came out on top in the invitational with a team score of 329, one stroke ahead of New Ulm’s runner-up 330.

St. Peter’s Carter Doose led the way with a medalist score of 36-33-69.

Fairmont combined for a 346, good for a tie with Marshall in third place, while North Union combined for 434 to place 10th overall.

Tanner DeWar led the way for the Cardinals with a 38-40-78 on two birdies, one that he chipped in on the par-5 fourth hole. DeWar’s 78 placed him fifth as an individual.

The Cardinals struggled on holes 10-12, causing multiple rises in Fairmont’s back-nine scores.

Jake Harris overcame the beginning of the back nine with a 42-42-84, for second on Fairmont.

Alexander Moeller and Colby Grotte each shot 92s for the final two Cardinal contributing scores. Moeller hit a 42 front nine and 50 back nine, while Grotte shot 44 on the front and 48 on the back.

David Maakestad shot a 40-54-94, while Carson Kuhl hit a 52-54-106 to round out the Cardinal scores.

Fairmont assistant coach Ryan Stevens said though the team went through struggles, it was good to see the players bounce back.

“Overall, we ended up right at that 346, probably not where we want to be yet, but that’s OK there’s still plenty of golf left,” Stevens said. “We’re trying to sink down to that 330 or maybe even 325, that’s kind of what the team has decided to work hard for. Tanner came out and had a great performance and, you know, pretty much everybody had a good front nine. We hit a lot of good shots on the back as well, we just ran into a stretch of holes collectively where we struggled. … The nice thing I saw when the scores came in, there was a tough stretch of holes, but we finished strong. … That kind of shows that we’re young, maybe a little fragile, but we’re able to bounce back.

“I don’t think we’re at our peak performance as a team yet, which is good because it’s not quite playoff season yet. … We’re used to playing in the rain and wind so for them to go out, have a nice day and host an invite with some great teams, they got to see some of our top competition moving forward into conferences with St. Peter and New Ulm, overall it was a good day. “

Hayden Nicoson led North Union with his 44-47-91, while Parker Eichenberger hit a 56-56-112.

Michael Hanson totalled a 58-56-114 and Carter Anderson hit a 56 front nine and 61 back nine for a total of 117 for the final two Warrior contributing scores.

Jacob Burt hit a 64-58-122 to round out the Warriors’ scoring.

North Union head coach Wes Gibbs said he was happy with how his team played on a difficult course.

“For a course that a lot of my players had never played, it’s a tough one with a lot of water,” Gibbs said. “I’m happy with the way they persevered in tough conditions. Not the scores I want to see, but it’s a new course for a lot of them. It was good to get 18 in, this was our first 18-hole competition, and with conferences and sectionals coming up, it gives them a lot more vision of what they need to be doing.”

New Ulm’s Glavine Schugel shot a 37-36-73 for runner-up medalist honors, while Jackson County Central’s Scott Flatebo hit a 40-35-75 for third and New Ulm’s Aiden Guggisberg totalled a 37-40-77 for fourth.

Fairmont hosts Martin County West at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Interlaken Golf Course, while North Union plays host to the Top of Iowa Conference Meet at 10 a.m. today at Country Greens Golf Course in Armstrong.