Battling the Elements
The men's golf team kicked off the spring season in Boulder City at the Las Vegas Shootout. It was a battle against the elements, as all 15 teams in the field wrestled cool temperatures and winds gusting upwards of 50mph at times. The results the Sea Beggars turned in left room for improvement going forward, as well as optimism for what could be around the corner for the team. All in all, it was a challenge worth pursuing to start the spring.
The scoring from Providence was very bunched, with Hayden Hughes (SO/Bakersfield, CA) leading the way with a 54-hole total of 240. Marc Lengtat (SR/Corning, CA) and Nick Chavez both followed closely at 241. Trey Kirschner (FR/Arvada, CO) wasn't too far back at 248 and turned in the low 18-hole round for Providence in round one at 76.
It was the 2nd round of day one that cost Providence the chance to post a top 5 team finish. All competitors struggled with the extreme playing conditions, Providence no different. At one point in round two, the Sea Beggars were closing in on 5th position, but couldn't quite finish off that round and had to settle for 7th after day one, posting a 336 amid the difficult conditions. On the 3rd and final round, Providence fought to pursue the leaders, but came up a bit short. With nearly one thousand strokes recorded by the top half of the field, Providence was just 12 strokes back of 5th when it was all said and done.
Coach Bowers commented, "We were not satisfied with our results, but the grit and effort were there. We got a good glimpse of what we need to work on, and the team is encouraged by what we can accomplish in the few months ahead with just a little game improvement work."
The Men's team is back in action on March 14th at Hillsdale College's event at Mid Pines near Pinehurst, NC. It should be a great test again with a large field, consisting mostly of some strong NCAA D2 teams.
