Central men’s golf team overcomes challenging weather at Midwest Region Classic
WISCONSIN DELLS — A half-hour downpour made an already tough golf course even more difficult for the Central College men’s golf team Monday at Trappers Turn Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells. The Dutch were able to fight through the conditions and post four rounds in the 70’s on day one of the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Classic.
“It was a pretty difficult golf course on a difficult day,” said coach Chad Green. “It just downpoured on us for about 30 minutes, and we had to play through it. There was no stoppage.”
The Central scores did not reflect the inclement weather. Desmond Stoll (senior, Lockport, N.Y.) and David Watson (senior, San Diego, Calif., Patrick Henry HS) each posted an opening-round 73 to lead the way for the Dutch. Clay Curwin (senior, Faribault, Minn., Shattuck St. Mary’s) and Jon Prescott (senior, Mendota, Ill.) both shot a 77 and Adam Squires (senior, Waterloo, Columbus) finished with an 80 for Central.
Green liked how his team overcame the challenging weather.
“I was happy to see the guys come out of that situation strong and play through that,” said Green. “It showed our mental toughness.”
Two groups of players were not able to finish their rounds due to darkness, and will have to finish tomorrow morning. The Dutch are the overall leaders among teams who finished today.
Central will play at Trappers Turn Golf Club again tomorrow, and Green thinks his team is capable of posting even lower scores if they putt better.
“I think we left ourselves in some bad spots,” said Green. “They had really tough greens and tough pins out here today. Tomorrow we need to clean up the putting a little, but it will be a new day with new pins, and hopefully a little better weather.”
Morris wins Central Shootout: It took a playoff, but Brock Morris (sophomore, Manchester, West Delaware HS) won the Central Shootout Monday after shooting a 71 and finishing in a three-way tie for first place through 18 holes.
Of the three Dutch teams to take part in the 8-team competition, the black team fared best, shooting a combined 296, which earned them second place.
“The black team played really well and really steady today,” said Green. “I’m really proud of those guys to play that well on that course.”