The Wake Forest Men’s Golf team made their way down to Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla. for the Valspar Collegiate Invitational earlier this week. The playing field was stacked for this tournament, including the likes of North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Arizona State and Florida State. Despite the strong field of teams, the Demon Deacons managed a No. 9 finish. Although a middle of the pack finish against such strong competition is a positive for the squad, a higher finish was up for grabs.
The Demon Deacons played exceptional golf on day one, posting an impressive 564 (-2) combined over the first two rounds. Senior Michael Brennan set the pace for the squad in round one, shooting a 68 (-3). Junior Scotty Kennon also shot below par, helping Wake Forest to tie for fifth place after round one.
Junior Marshall Meisel led the charge in round two, shooting a 66 (-5) in the second round, including an impressive eagle on the front nine. Sophomore Andrew McLauchlan also eagled in round two and posted even par to help the Demon Deacons rise up to second place after round two.
“The guys played great today and battled all day, and we are right there,” Men’s Golf Coach Jerry Haas said after day one. “If we get off to a good start tomorrow, we will have a chance at the end. A lot to play for tomorrow.”
The squad was in prime position heading into day two, in second place with all to play for in the third and final round.
However, the Demon Deacons failed to capitalize on such a great position and ended up shooting a combined 294 (+10) and slipped down to ninth place to end the invitational. All five starters posted scores over par in the final round. Despite the third round struggles, Brennan and Meisel both still managed to finish inside the top 15 on the individual leaderboard. Brennan finished No. 5 overall, with a total score of 210 (-3). Meisel finished tied for No. 15 with a total score of 212 (-1).
Kennon, McLauchlan, and junior Collin Adams finished tied for No. 57, tied for No. 65 and tied for No. 70, respectively. As a team, Wake Forest did their most damage on the Par 5s, shooting an average of 4.65 (-21). However, the team struggled on the Par 4s, shooting an average of 4.22 (+30). Meisel held it down for Wake Forest on the par threes, shooting a tied individual best of 2.93 (-1) .
Overall, the course length of 7114 yards posed a challenge for the team this week, but the Demon Deacons showed that they can compete with the top teams in the country at a difficult golf course.
The next tournament for Wake Forest Men’s Golf is the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Fla. The team will look to build on their showing this week and continue to work towards the ACC Championship in mid-April.
