The Wake Forest Men’s Golf team had another solid showing this week at the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, FL. While the Demon Deacons finished 33 shots behind the tournament-winning Florida Gators, the cup proved to be an incredibly competitive event, with seven ranked schools participating — including No. 46 Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons managed a top-five finish, ahead of top teams like No. 4 LSU and No. 8 Virginia. It took a -3 team score on the day to move up one place from sixth into fifth, after shooting a combined +19 through the first two rounds.
On the individual leaderboard, the highest-placing Demon Deacon was senior Marshall Meisel, who managed an impressive +1 overall score after shooting +1, E, and E in his three rounds. His consistent play was particularly impressive, considering the rest of the Wake Forest starting lineup was much more volatile.
Round one was not great for the Demon Deacons, with the team shooting a combined +8, and not a single starter scoring below par. Wake Forest struggled on the short game, and not a single player managed a birdie on any of the par three holes in the first round.
Head Coach Jerry Haas expressed optimism following the opening round, noting both positives and areas for improvement.
“There were lots of good things today, but making a few more putts will be helpful,” Haas said.
Round two was a similar story, with Wake Forest shooting an even worse +11, falling to sixth in the leaderboard.
“Not our best day, but our guys were really battling through some things out there today,” Haas said after round two. “We still have a chance to move up the leaderboard, and I know these guys know this course well from playing in this tournament the last few years.”
Wake Forest finally got things going in the final round, with a combined score of -3 and just two players over par on the day. Entering the round two shots behind fifth-place LSU, it was going to take a strong performance from the starters to sneak into the top five, and they delivered.
Meisel, who was tied for eighth entering the final round, was not able to capitalize on a relatively easy day on the course, where the individual scoring average was nearly two shots better than the previous two rounds. Despite this, the Maryland native led the way for the Demon Deacons all week long and has emerged as a reliable scorer for Haas and his team. He tied for the tournament lead with 39 pars, showcasing his consistency and avoiding costly mistakes throughout the event.
As a team, Wake Forest was able to do the most damage on the par five holes, where they had the third best scoring average of 4.77, shooting a combined -14. However, Wake gave the most strokes back of any team on the par three holes, with a scoring average of 3.42, and a combined score of +25. The Demon Deacons had just three birdies on par threes the entire tournament.
“It’s always nice to finish the event with our best round,” Haas said. “It shows a lot of heart and guts.”
Next up for Wake Forest Men’s Golf is the ACC Championship, starting on Monday, April 28. It will be held at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, KY.
