NCMC Pirates Men's Golf kicked off their fall season on Thursday at the Graceland University Fall Invitational. With a team score of 306, the Pirates place 3rd of 10 in the event.
The Pirates were anchored by their sophomore players. "Our returners all played well as we tied our program's team score record at 306. That being said, I'm sure each of them would tell you that they missed opportunities. The competition got better over the summer and we've got to figure out how to get to their level; chasing people isn't fun. I know our guys are able to play consistent and keep it in the mid-70's, so we'll stay in the top half of most leaderboards. Once we get some more birdies on the card, we'll start competing for the top spots," detailed Coach Sager.
Lewis Hopkinson and Cody Glenn (76) each paced the Pirates. Their scores were good for T12 individually. Just one stroke away (77) at T15 were Scott Swayne, Jasper van der Zon, and James Gardner.
"Our new guys we're able to use the event to shake off some nerves and help learn the college way of traveling and playing. It was only a one-day tournament, so they still haven't experienced the long bus trips and overnight stays, but it did give them a look at some of the competition and course set-ups that they'll be seeing. We're fortunate to have a large number of returning players so the new guys don't have to get thrown to the wolves anymore. They're in more of a position to push for spots at practice and ease into the competition scene. Hitting the golf ball is the easy part, scoring consistently in a five-hour round is tough. As they all do, they'll figure it out," added Sager of his freshman players' efforts.
Scores for the freshmen were Pirmin Kamm (+10), Lathan Croy (+11), Van Barr (+17), Kade Meineka (+17), and Colton Barnes (+19).