Pirates Golf placed fourth out of eleven teams that competed at the Dornick Hills Invitational in Ardmore, OK. The event was originally scheduled to be two days of action but was shortened to a single day due to weather. The Pirates completed two rounds of golf shooting 309-300.
A tough course and wet conditions posed challenges for the Pirates. "That course was an interesting design with really good bunkering around the greens. It's a course that forces you to hit the fairway and hit the green or pay a penalty. That combined with the wet conditions made for some tough scoring. A simple approach to a course like that is about the only way to go about it," commented Coach Sager.
Sophomore Lewis Hopkinson was again the Pirates best scorer. His +8 over the two rounds was good for a T7 finish. "Lewis was only two shots away from a first place tie. It's easy to second guess a few of the holes and/or shots, but at the end of the day he gave himself a chance to win against a pretty strong field," said Sager.
Scott Swayne at +10 placed T12 overall. "Scott had another solid week. On a course that requires you to hit fairways and greens, he will always give himself opportunities. He's hitting the ball well right now, just a couple small mistakes away from putting together a really nice round," detailed Sager.
The next best Pirate finisher, in T25 position, was Cody Glenn at +14. Sager remarked that "Cody fought off some bad swings with his driver with a hot putter. He put in a little extra work on the practice green last week and it really paid off. It's nice to see him find other ways to score. He's always been a long player that muscles his way around the course with a great long game. Now it's the short game, all the pieces are coming together and we're seeing better course management and lower scores."
Lathan Croy and Pirmin Kamm (+17) each tied for 37th place.
With just a few events left on the fall schedule, the Pirates are looking to finish strong. "Our next two events will really show us where we stand heading into the winter break. We've got an opportunity to finish strong, keep shaving down our scoring average, and carry some momentum into our winter workouts. Those workouts are tough without a late season push. I'm asking the guys to buckle down the next three weeks, put their game and school first, and focus on what they came here to do; play good golf. We'll see who buys into the system and who doesn't," concluded Sager.