The Marquette men’s golf team came out of its winter hibernation and the results of the layoff were evident as it finished tied for 19th out of 23 teams at the USF Ron Smith Invitational in Dade City, Fla.
The Golden Eagles combined to shoot a 901, 37 strokes over par and 49 strokes behind tournament champion Florida Southern on the Lake Jovita Country Club golf course.
“It was a slow start. We definitely didn’t perform to the level we thought we were capable of starting out,” senior Mike McDonald said. “We felt pretty prepared going into this tournament. This typically is a very difficult golf course to play, but we definitely thought our games were where we needed them to be.”
Sophomore Matt Haase echoed McDonald’s sentiments, saying he expected better results from the team.
“It was definitely a little disappointing. We were working hard over the break so it was a little disappointing to come out that way,” Haase said. “But there were little things that were positive, too. Mike played well and I had one good round. We just need to put things together.”
McDonald paced the team, shooting a 217, 1-over-par, for the weekend. The senior had struggled the first two days, shooting 3-over on Friday and 1-over on Saturday, but closed the tournament out scorching hot, recording birdies on his final three holes for a 3-under 69.
“I played really solid all day,” McDonald said. “The one nine was a 38 and the other a 31. The score looks so different, but I didn’t really play any different. The difference was I just made more putts on the one nine.
“I really set myself up the same on both nines, gave myself a lot of birdie chances. I think I had five or six lip-out putts on the front nine, whereas the back nine those putts dropped for me. It was just a matter of if the putts went in or not.”
Haase hit the shot of the weekend during the first round on Friday when he holed out for eagle from 84 yards away on the 362-yard 17th hole. Haase would go on to shoot a 1-under 71 on Friday.
“That was my eighth hole. I was 1-over-par and I hit a good drive in the middle of the fairway on hole 17,” Haase said. “I was actually in a little sand divot, and I didn’t have a very good lie. I hit a knock-down sand which flew it over the pin, and it spun back in. It was just the perfect shot and it went in.”
Unfortunately, Haase hit some bumps the rest of the weekend and shot 13-over-par for the tournament.
“The first day I was mentally ready to go and I really should have been a couple strokes better,” Haase said. “The second and third days, I wasn’t feeling it that day. My timing was off and I struggled with the putter. My pre-shot routine needs work, that’s for sure.”
On a lighter note, the men could not escape the cold, undergoing a one hour frost delay, according to the Marquette Golf Twitter page.
“1 hour frost delay in Tampa. You heard it right,” assistant coach Kyle Murphy tweeted.
The results weren’t there for Marquette this weekend, but it was only the first weekend of the season and there is plenty of room for improvement.
“Obviously it didn’t turn out the way we expected, but it was a good learning experience,” McDonald said. “It’s going to get a little tougher out there. There are improvements to be made.”
