Rams Succumb to TRICKY New Castle Country Club
(NEW CASTLE, Pa.) -- It should come as no surprise that Westminster College was the best team at the New Castle Invitational. This is their home course and the
one place where "Home Field Advantage" really counts. The Rams went to
New Castle, PA on Sunday to scout the course. Westminster was PLAYING it
and the pins were set for the championship! The greens were running
over 13 and EVEN HIGHER. Uphill 25 footers were stopping 2 feet from
the hole AND rolling back OFF THE GREEN! It was a day that teams can
lose their composure quickly, BUT the Rams stayed as focused as
possible and kept their poise. Scoring was another issue. David
Bradshaw, our #1 SHOT A 78 and placed 3rd! David has had four par and
under rounds! Chris Butcher scored an 80 and his only two rounds also
were par and under this year! It was just a case of pins and greens
that were set up to favor one team. Rounding out the teams scores were
Billy Clusman at 83, Jason Ferguson at 85 and Justin Hockman at 88. The
Rams finished 3rd in the 12 team event. Host Westminster shot a team
score of 311 and the Rams shot a 326.
Coach's Comments - "I was VERY proud of the way the guys handled
adversity today. ALL of them really battled, but the course was set up
so much for the team that plays it each day that it was unfair for all
others. I am not going to discount that we should and could have made a
putt here or there that we let slip away, i am going to state that the
course was not a fair test of golf for the total field. Early on I used
to schedule teams into Cress Creek CC, our home course. At least our
greens were fair. The course was one we NEVER lost a match on! It also
became one that other teams would not return to. That was because of
our familiarity of the layout. Today, was a case of a truly unfair set
of pins and greens! Again, I give our guys congratulations for
maintaining both focus and poise. We will see Westminster again this
month at Eagles Landing and we will show our strength there!"
- Mike Jacobs