The Eagles kicked off their spring campaign at the Callaway Gardens Collegiate Invitational this past weekend, finishing with a team score of 612 (302-310) and securing fourth place of 16 teams. The 36-hole tournament was played this past Saturday and Sunday on the 7,057 yard par-72 Mountain View course in Pine Mountain, Ga.
Head Coach John Sjoberg said of the weekend, "It's a very solid start for us. It was a good field, and hopefully that will springboard us into the conference tournament next week."
In addressing the 8-shot discrepancy between the first and second rounds, Sjoberg noted that the playing conditions were significantly harder.
"The wind picked up quite a bit, and there were quite a few really tough hole locations on Sunday. It was just a harder golf course, all in all."
Despite the conditions and tough field, senior Johnathan Chen led the team with a solid three-over finish of 147 (73-74), putting him at a tie for 7th place in a 101-player field.
"Johnathan played really well from tee to green," Sjoberg said. "He was driving well and his ball striking was good, we just need some putts for birdies but he played really consistently over the two days."
Senior Alec Berens followed with a 21st place finish of 153 (73-80). Freshman Colby Hipp bounced back from a first round score of 85 to a second round score of 74, rounding out at 159 and good for a 44th place finish. Junior Alex Wunderlich trailed one shot behind Hipp with 160 (75-85), and senior Will Roth rounded out the Eagles' scores with 163 (81-82).
In approaching this spring season, Sjoberg mentioned the importance of having three seniors on the five-man traveling team.
"They're obviously a big part of the team," he said. "They're an experienced group, so now we need them to play like seniors and continue to play well. They need to push themselves and each other because they understand what it takes to play at a high level."
Chen, Berens and Roth are up for the challenge.
"We had a good first round as a team and struggled in the second," Berens said. "But it was still nice to get a top five finish, and we're moving in the right direction going into UAAs. We all know what we need to work on, and we're only looking to improve as the spring season continues."
The team will now turn to two tournaments to be held over spring break, traveling to the University Athletic Association Championships held March 9-10 at the Redtail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla., and then moving on to the Oglethorpe Spring Invitational from March 14-16 in Jekyll Island, Ga.
Sjoberg noted, "We drove the ball well, and we just need to do better with our short irons and pitching. But our long game is in shape, and the short game will come in time, so we are definitely on an upswing."
- By Seanette Ting
