The Eagles continued their fall tournament season this past Monday and Tuesday, finishing ninth place at the Gordin Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The 54-hole event was held at the 6,968-yard, par-72 Columbus Country Club, with two rounds at on Monday and a final round on Tuesday.
The reputable two-day event was hosted by Ohio Wesleyan and attracted some of the top programs in Division III amongst the 12 competing teams.
"It was a good course and a great field, Wittenburg won this tournament this year as well as last year, and Methodist is always good. We had a few good rounds in this event, but it wasn't enough to put together good scores," Head Coach John Sjoberg said.
The team posted a score of 902 (306-292-300) over three rounds.
"Monday's second round score of 292 put us in a better spot, but we need to learn to continue bearing down and playing well," Sjoberg said. "It's important to have a stronger sense of urgency, and our seniors can not feel complacent with their game. We're in a tough stretch with midterm season but we need to step up play well next week."
Junior Alex Wunderlich lead the team with a three-round score of 227 (76-76-75), finishing tied for 33rd in a field of 90 players. One shot behind him, senior Will Roth carded a score of 228 (81-72-75), tying for 37th. Seniors Alec Berens and Johnathan Chen came in with scores of 229, with Berens carding 80-75-74 over three rounds and Chen with a scorecard of 73-80-76. Freshman Colby Hipp rounded out the scores with 232 (77-73-82).
Taking first place was Wittenburg at 863 (295-287-281), followed by St. John Fisher with 876 (285-291-300). Transylvania (877), Methodist University (878) and Guilford (881), finished out the top five teams at the Classic.
"Competition was tough, it was a really good field. Unfortunately we didn't show up to play. We have a quick turnover before our event at Royal Lakes and hopefully our guys, including myself, can work it out," Chen said.
The team will work on consistency in their remaining two fall tournaments.
"It seems that many times our bad rounds are a result of two or three bad holes. Limiting the damage when we get out of position is going to be the first and most controllable part of playing better," Roth said.
He continued: "If we just focus on limiting the big numbers, we can make birdies and come away with good scores,"
The team now turns their focus to their next tournament held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 7-8, at the Oglethorpe Fall Invitational.
This will be the Eagles' third tournament in three weeks and will be held at the Royal Lakes Golf Course near Flowery Branch, Ga.
– By Seanette Ting
