DWU MEN’S GOLF TEAM LED BY YOUNG CORE AT SIOUXLAND INVITATIONAL
Sioux Center, Iowa – DWU Men's golf had their second meet of the season at the Siouxland Invitational, with 36 holes at The Ridge Golf Club and 18 holes at Landsmeer Golf Club. Freshman Connor Calahan finished the first day as the top performer, as he finished just seven over par. Freshman Juan Florez made his Tiger debut in the second day of the Invitational and showed out, finishing his first 18 holes as a Tiger with a 71. Sophomore Peyton Bettcher was the best Tiger finisher for the team, as he finished with a three-round score of 223.
Quick Stats:
Athlete R1 R2 R3 Total
Bettcher 78 73 72 223
Calahan 75 74 80 229
Van Beek 83 77 79 239
Childs 87 82 85 254
Florez N/A N/A 71 71
How It Happened:
Day 1: In the second golf meet of the season, the Tigers struggled through the first 18 holes, looking to bounce back on the next 18. Connor Calahan finished the first round with a 75, grabbing a trio of birdies. Peyton Bettcher came out of round one seven over (78). Carson Van Beek turned in his scorecard with an 83 and Jackson Childs finished out the first round with an 87 for the Tigers.
Round two the Tigers bounced back, as they fixed their mistakes. Calahan finished with a 74 in the second round of the day. Coach Meyerink had this to say about Calahan's day one performance; "all four (guys) carded a better second-round with Connor leading the way with a 75-74, and he did that without making many putts. That really shows his potential. He is going to be a great player for Dakota Wesleyan, no doubt." Bettcher improved on the second 18 holes, finishing with a 73. Van Beek showed the most improvement, cutting six strokes off his first-round score to finish with a 77. Childs turned in his scorecard with an improved score as well with an 82.
Day 2: Tigers came out stronger in day two, with limited errors and a big debut performance from Juan Florez. Florez finished the third round in sixth place with a 71 for par, but only competed in the third round. Coach Meyerink had these thoughts about Florez; "Juan was ready to get started and it showed. He posted our best round with an even par 71. He was satisfied with his round and said it could be better, and I believe him. He nearly picked up an ace today, hit it behind the hole and spun it back four feet coming up just inches short of the cup." Bettcher turned his game around, as he finished the third round with a pair of birdies and limited bogies, he finished with a 72 and walked out of the meet with a 223. Coach Meyerink had this to say about Peyton's performance; "Bettcher is playing some quality golf right now. The way he's plotting it around on the golf course leads me to believe he really is starting to understand the game." Calahan came out strong in day one and continued to do so in round three, turned in a score card with an 80 in round three. The next Tiger finisher was Van Beek, who finished with a three-round total of 239. Childs finished his third round with an 85. The Tigers finished in 15th place as a team.
Coach Meyerink's Thoughts
Day 1: "We struggled out of the gate mainly with putting, then I noticed they were starting to try to attack pins they shouldn't have. I get it, when putts aren't going in you try to force shots closer and it almost always will come back to bite you in the end. I like the mindset that they can hit any shot, but you need to put yourself in check. Almost always, pars will move you and your team up the leaderboard when it comes to tournament play. We are trending in the right direction and I'm happy to announce we will finally field a full team of 5 tomorrow! The team is excited for Juan Florez to get going tomorrow and I think that will take a lot of pressure off everyone to have one score we throw out."
Day 2: "The team doesnt remember haveing two Tigers at +1 or better in a tournament round. Our team score is trending in the right way. Those two (Florez and Bettcher) will be key heading into next weeks Hardrocker tournament in Rapid City.
Up Next:
Tigers next meet will be September 18th and 19th at the Hardrocker Fall Invitational in Rapid City, S.D.
