Golf plays through storm

Home Sports Golf plays through storm

Stormy weather and travel difficulties plagued the golf team in their two tournaments this weekend.

On Monday, the Chargers competed at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan in an out-of-conference tournament hosted by Lawrence Tech.

Due to travel delays, the team was only able to play 18 of the 36 holes so they did not have an official tournament score.

Mitzner led the team with an 18-hole score of 78 with five birdies. Freshman John Duffy and Junior Patrick Nalepa debuted with scores of 87 and 85, respectively.

Among the ten other teams in the tournament, Nalepa figures the Chargers would have been competitive had their scores been counted.

“I was sandwiched between the other people I was playing with, so my scores were right in the middle of theirs. I think Brad was in between his pairing, and so were the other guys,” Nalepa said.

Nalepa recounted the surprise highlight of his round – a par on the fourth hole. Little did he know, Sam Snead, the World Golf Hall of Famer, PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and 82 time champion, earned a ten on the same hole in 1947.

“[It’s] fun to play with people you don’t know, who you don’t normally play with. But it also counts for something. There’s a little bit on the line,” said Napela, who played in his first competitive round since high school.

The same storm that drenched the final quarter of the home football game on Saturday plagued the Charger golf team in South Haven, Michigan all day long.

The golf team finished 13th of 14 in the GLIAC North Invitational, beating out Lake Erie College. The Chargers were consistent between the two rounds of play with team scores of 316-316. Senior co-captain Matt Chalberg led the team for the third straight week with scores of 74-74 and finished tied for eighth out of a field of 91 players.

Senior co-captain Brad Mitzner, junior Cole Benzing and freshman John Burke all made their collegiate debuts in the horrible weather. Freshman Joe Torres shot 77-77 for a 35th place finish and freshman Steve Sartore finished the weekend scoring 160.

Torres said there was “rain on and off the whole time, probably every other hole,” and said the golfers battled 30 mile an hour winds all day.

“[Saturday was] just the windiest day – worst conditions I’ve ever played golf in. It was so cold and rainy,” Chalberg said.

Despite the conditions, Torres played the par fives four-under. He described one such birdie on the second hole.

“It was a dog leg right, down wind. I cut the corner really well and had 145 yards in. I took a 54 degree wedge [from there] and birdied it.”

There will be more on the line this next week as Hillsdale golf heads to Chicago on Sunday morning for the Midwest Regional, a three day event that serves as the first qualifier for nationals.