Statesmen in the Mix After First Day of Nationals
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Silvis, Ill.–The William Penn men’s golf team showed it was not afraid of the moment as it shot a solid sub-300 score in the opening round of the NAIA National Championships Tuesday.
In the first round of its first-ever national tournament, WPU shot a 299 to tie for 18th out of 29 teams at the par-71 TPC Deere Run Golf Course. Keiser (Fla.), which entered nationals at #5 nationally, leads the field at five-under 279, while #8 Coastal Georgia and #11 Taylor (Ind.) are one shot back at 280.
The navy and gold are just four strokes out of 12th place and 10 shots from being sixth in the standings. The squad, paired with Holy Cross (Ind.) (T-12th, 295) and Asbury (Ky.) (29th, 324) will be in Wednesday’s first group to hit the course with its first tee time off Hole #1 at 7:50 a.m. (Central).
While Jack Dyer of Keiser leads at five-under 66, there were a total of 20 linksters who took advantage of Tuesday’s near-perfect conditions by breaking par.
The Statesmen, who started action on Hole #10, were paced by Sebastian Rulis (Sr., Helsingor, Denmark, Business Management) with a 73 to tie for 43rd out of 155 players.
The senior was hot early with birdies on the 12th, 15th, and 16th holes to sit at one-under after the opening nine holes. He also birdied Hole #6, but on the flip side, succumbed to four bogeys and one double bogey.
Zachary Chegwidden (So., Essex, England, Business Management) and Frederik Lundsgaard (Sr., Jebjerg, Denmark, History/Government) each carded a 75 to tie for 68th.
Chegwidden started strong with birdies on the 10th and 14th holes, but could not hold that pace as he was saddled with four bogeys and one double bogey.
Lundsgaard matched Rulis with four birdies (Holes 4, 10, 12, 14) and four bogeys, but unfortunately struggled on the 16th hole to the tune of a quadruple bogey.
Zach Swink (Sr., Burlington, Iowa, Sociology), who shot a 76 to tie for 90th, went through the emotional wringer in a feast-or-famine round that saw him finish just two strokes off his career low at WPU. The senior started with a birdie on #10, but then suffered a triple bogey on #11, only to bounce back with a birdie on #12, before finally recording a bogey on #13.
After parring four of his next five holes, things got even crazier on the front for Swink with birdies on #1, #2, #6, and #8 for a team-high total of six birdies. Unfortunately, he also had to mark down a bogey and two double bogeys. Swink ended the round with just six pars.
The lone freshman in the group, Oscar Florez Martinez (Fr., Gignon, Spain, Business Management) had the worst luck on bad holes with a quintuple bogey and a triple bogey to sit at +10 after only eight holes. Fortunately, in a round where he finished at 85 (tied for 151st), he settled down with six straight pars to salvage the day.
“Overall, I feel like we had a pretty good day,” Head Coach Steve Tucker said. “We had some bad holes that we hope to eliminate tomorrow. We look to improve every day, and tomorrow we hope to move up the board!”
