Sam Houston hits Denver for second tournament
9/27/2015 11:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Two weeks removed from shooting 4-under during the final day to take eighth overall at its season-opening tournament, the youthful Sam Houston men's golf team takes a sense of confidence into Monday's Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational from Denver's 7,110-yard, par-70 Colorado National Golf Club.
“I think they have everything it takes to replicate the success we've had in the past,” fourth-year head coach Brandt Kieschnick said. “They are those types of players, they're just new faces. I see this team as an extension of the success we've had. They have the makeup to be great and if not maybe better – and they're young on top of that.”
The sixth-annual event features 12 teams, including Air Force, Colorado (#50), George Washington, Houston Baptist, Loyola-Marymount, Missouri-Kansas City (#149), Northern Colorado, Texas-San Antonio (#33), Utah State (#141), Wichita State (#127) and Wyoming (#138).
Fans can follow along at GolfStats.com with the 54-hole tournament formatted at a staggered shotgun starting at 8:45 a.m. on Monday and 8:15 a.m. Tuesday. The Kats' 5-man team will play 36 continuous holes Monday and the final 18 Tuesday.
At Southern Miss's Sam Hall Intercollegiate, the Bearkats (#63) trotted out freshmen Camden DeBonis and Mason Weld; redshirt freshman Logan Yanick, sophomore Jake McCrory and junior Andrew Ertel.
“We just had to shoot that first under-par round,” Kieschnick said. “It gives them confidence and shows they can play with anybody. Everyone has to do their part. One guy is going to shoot low and if you're not shooting low that day you've got to protect them with your round.”
In the opener, Erel, who enters play ranked No. 34 in the country by GOLFWEEK, notched a personal-best and program-best 54-hole score at 11-under to finish second.
“He's a very special player,” Kieschnick said. “Our goal for him and every player is to set records here and I think he's on pace to do that. We want them to learn how to win and he almost won last week. We'll keep building on that but when they learn how to win, it's amazing how much their confidence goes up.”
For Kieschnick, whose squad has seen NCAA Regionals play take them to Auburn, Ala., and Seattle, Wash., each of the past two seasons, the goal is to expose the players to a variety of courses across the country.
“We've tried to spread our competitions around during the fall,” Kieschnick said. “Two years ago, we went to Kansas State and we went to Wisconsin last year. There are a few weeks out of the year I try to move around where Regionals may be. We're excited to go try a new venue.”
One advantage the Kats have in preparing for the NCAAs, as well as regular-season trips to Las Cruces, N.M., Westlake Village, Calif., and Phoenix, Ariz., is the abundance of quality courses in the area and Sam Houston's access to them.
“We have some of the best courses in the country to play (in this area),” Kieschnick said. “They're never seeing the same golf course every day so it keeps them on their toes. We travel really well because we're constantly seeing different looks, shots, grasses, bunkers, water, trees so they aren't surprised by any course around the country.”
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