Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan men's golf team traveled to Orange City, Iowa at the Landsmeer Golf Club. The Tigers and everyone at the invitational battled tough conditions from the start with winds in the 20-30 mph and gusts of 40-50 mph. The talk around the course was that it was one of the windiest conditions any golfer there had faced. Connor Calahan and Juan Florez tied as the top finishers for DWU with their 153 between the two rounds, finishing in the top-20. Florez recorded the lowest round of the day for the Tigers with his 74 (+3) in round two. Overall, as a squad they learned from their mistakes in round one transitioning to round two of the day going from +35 in round one to +27 in round two.
Calahan finished with a combined team high 20 pars and three birdies between the two rounds followed by Florez who had 19 pars and tied for a team high four birdies. Carson Van Beek was next for the Tigers with his 161 (+19) on the day and recorded 14 pars and three birdies. Peyton Bettcher concluded his day with a 163 (+21) with 17 pars and one birdie on the afternoon. Mitchell native Jackson Childs had an up and down afternoon with his 168 (+26) and nine pars but tied with Florez with his four birdies on the day.
Head coach Jeff Meyerink had this to add of his team's performance, "We battled today with tough conditions and I think each guy would say they had 3-4 swings each round that they would want back. Putting wasn't at our best today as a collective group, but that is the thing with golf, it is a very humbling game and has never and will never be perfected. That's what makes it so great." When asked about his two top performers that tied for 15th Meyerink said, "Connor and Juan making top-20 in 30-40 mph winds on course with no protection was great to see." With the GPAC Championships coming up soon Meyerink had this to add, "We will make some minor adjustments this week and get ready for Gates Park at Waterloo Friday and Saturday and continue to sharpen up our game leading into to the conference tournament."
Quick Stats
Athlete R1 R2 FINAL
(T15) Connor Calahan 76 77 153
(T15) Juan Florez 79 74 153
(T35) Carson Van Beek 83 78 161
(T41) Peyton Bettcher 81 82 163
(52) Jackson Childs 84 84 168
Team +35 +27 +62
Up Next for the Tigers –
The DWU men's golf team will be back on the course Friday and Saturday, April 19 & 20 at the Waterloo Intercollegiate in Waterloo, Iowa.