Men’s golf is back! The squad competed in two events, the Mercyhurst Invitational and The Challenge at Mystic Rock hosted by California (Pa).
The Mercyhurst Invitational took place on the 29th and 30th of September. This event took place at Lake View Golf Course in Erie, Pa. This par 72 course plays a total of 6,877 yards, and WCU played all 6,877 of them to their fullest potential. On day one, freshman Andrew Patterson shot the lowest score of all the Golden Rams golfers with a 3 over par total of 75. Patterson was tied for tenth individually at the end of the day. Junior, Austin Mann, was not far behind as he shot four over with a 76 on the day.
Mann was tied for 14th individually. Mann impressed many by shooting even par on the back nine. Corry Smith joined the 70’s parade as he shot a 78 on the day. Smith was tied for 28th individually after Sunday’s efforts. Junior, Eric Slawter, shot 80 on the day. Fellow junior, Ryan Fogel, shot 84 on the day. Notably, sophomore Zach Dilcher shot a 76 individually, so his score would not be counted in the team’s total score; however, the team would have loved another 4 over par performance on day one. At the end of the day, West Chester was tied with Clarion at fifth on the leader board. West Chester’s total as a team was 309 on the day. It was far behind the leader University of Toronto with 287.
Once again, day two proved to be a good one forWest Chester. It has been a trend this season that West Chester scores better on day two of tournaments. That trend continued as the Golden Rams shot a 306 on day two. This would be the second lowest score of the day and would put West Chester as the top PSAC schools in the tournament. Patterson, once again, stepped up and shot a 77 on the day. The freshman had the lowest score of all the Golden Ram golfers. The freshmen this season have shown that West Chester will be competitive for years to come. Patterson shot 152 in 36 holes and was tied for 12th place individually in the tournament. Mann, a strong presence on the team, shot a 79 on the day. He continues to have a great season with a final individual score of 155 in the 36 hole event. Smith finished his day two with an 82. He would have an overall score of 160. Slaughter improved his score by four strokes with a 76 on day two. His overall score would be a 156. The biggest story of the day would be Fogel’s resurgence in day two. He improved his day one score by ten strokes and shot 74. Fogel finished the tournament with a 158. Dilcher as an individual shot 78 on the day and finished with 154. West Chester’s efforts move them up one spot as they finished fourth in the tournament. West Chester keeps consistent with their numerous top five finishes this year.
The Golden Ram’s also competed in The Challenge at Mystic Rock hosted by California (Pa). On day one, the Rams played 36 holes at the par 72 course which has hosted many PGA tour events, which include stars like Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. For the second tournament in a row, a freshman paced WCU’s attack. Zach Boe carded a 36 hole score of 157 on day one. Along with Boe, Patterson shot 157 on the day as well. Both players shot 78 and 79 in their rounds, respectively. Fogel shot a first round 85; however, Fogel resurged once again to shoot a team low of 76 in his second round. Senior Michael Ashcraft shot an 86 in his opening round, but then shot a 79 in round two.On day two of the 54 hole tournament, West Chester moved up two spots and finished 7th in the tournament. Boe was very impressive as he shot just one over par on the day with a 73. That score would be the lowest of all the golden rams throughout the tournament. Boe would finish the tournament with an overall score of 230 and be tied for 16th individually. Patterson finished with a 54 hole score of 237 and a tie for 27th individually. Fogel finished his tournament by carding an overall score of 238. He would tie for 31st in the tournament. Unfortunately, the senior Ashcraft would finish with 241 and a tie for 41st individually. West Chester as a team shot 306 on the final day. They incredibly shaved 22 strokes off its first round of Monday scores. Their overall tournament score would be 946. West Chester continues to steam roll with another top ten finish. Once again, if West Chester puts up the same numbers in round one as they do in round two of tournaments, then you will be looking at a dangerous group of golfers. West Chester will be competing in the Bud Elwell Invitational on Oct. 13-14 in Clymer, N.Y, please support the team as it should be a good match.
Michael Murphy is a first-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at MM802071@wcupa.edu
Thu. Apr 25th, 2024
