On Feb. 28, men’s golf will conclude play at the UNO Mardi Gras Invitational in New Orleans. This is the team’s first competition since late October. The team is excited that is it being held on a PGA level course.
Garrett Runion, head coach, said he is ready to see his team back in a competitive environment. He said the players are anxious to start competing again.
“Just about every one of my guys has come up to me and said that they cannot wait for our first tournament of the spring,” said Runion. “They are very hungry and excited about our spring schedule.”
Sophomore Ben Taylor is ranked the number one male golfer in Division II. He said he hopes he can continue to be number one for the rest of the semester.
“It’s honestly really big,” he said. “I’m certainly enjoying being number one at the moment. It’s putting on a lot of added pressure, which is good for competition. It’s good for my focus. I’m certainly getting a lot of support from my friends and family about it.”
Taylor said he would like to win the individual title at the invitational. He felt if the team takes it one step at a time, it can be successful. Taylor said winning the first tournament of the spring would be a huge deal.
“From a team standpoint, we don’t need to think about winning, but we just need to think about taking each hole as it comes, try to keep the high numbers off the card, and try to win the team event,” said Taylor.
Runion said he holds his team to a high standard and hopes the team will win the tournament.
“I always have high expectations, and that will be the case for this tournament as well,” he said. “My guys are excited and hungry to play and should be fresh, so I do expect a good finish and hopefully a chance to come home with the title.”
