Golf team starts season slow, dissappointing tourney finish

A weak first round start made winning at the Bobcat Invitational at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee an almost impossible feat for the GCSU golf team, but a promising finish shows hope for the future.

On Monday morning, GCSU’s Men’s Golf Team hosted the Bobcat Invitational. Although the previous matches of the spring season had been disappointing without any top three finishes, the team is improving. More than half of the team is made up of underclassmen. In the last three tournaments at the end of February and beginning of March: the Presbyterian College Intercollegiate in Clinton, S.C., the Pirate Invitational in Savannah, Ga. and the SoCal Intercollegiate Championships in San Juan Capistrano, Ca., the Bobcats had top five finishes.

However, the first day of the Bobcat Invitational did not follow the continual improvement, said sophomore GCSU golfer Niclas Szieger.

“We had big expectations for our home event of the season because the team has been improving in every tournament,” said Szieger. “The first day of play (at the Bobcat Invitational) was our worst outing of the spring.”

At the 16th hole in the Invitational, Szieger’s poor putting mounted into frustration. After missing a four foot putt, Szieger accidentally broke his putter into two pieces, causing him to putt with his three-wood for the remaining holes; he finished out the round with an 82.

Sophomore and golf team member Johan Cronvall said he felt that fatigue set in on the first day’s rounds.

“I shot a 71 on my first round on Monday, but on my second round of the day I grew tired,” said Cronvall. “Two rounds in one day wore me out. I shot a 79 (in the second round of the day) to prove it.”

GCSU Head Golf Coach Jimmy Wilson said there were many areas of the team’s game to improve upon, but that the team also has the potential to succeed.

“The season has not started out as well as I would have liked; we’re just not clicking yet, but I cannot put my finger on an exact reason,” said Wilson. “Our hard work just has not paid off yet, but we have many experienced players and a great deal of talent. If we can get beyond our mental blocks and play up to our capabilities then we will do fine.”

Cronvall, Szieger and Juan Bialet are the three golfers who posted scores for the Bobcats at the Bobcat Invitational. On the second day of tournament play, the Bobcats led the field with a combined 291 shots, with Bialet leading the team with a 70 and Cronvall following with a 74. On the final day of competition, Szieger shot almost 10 strokes better with a 73 on a new day with a new putter. However, the outstanding third round only rewarded the team with a 10th place finish.

“We need to work on our short game and consistency,” said Cronvall. “I am pleased with our second day of play and I hope we can take this round and bring it to the next tournament.”

When asked what areas of Szieger’s game needed improving, he simply stated, “putting, putting, putting.”

“Golf’s a funny game,” said Wilson. “Sometimes it works out and other times it doesn’t.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 31 2006. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry