(photo via ACU Sports)
The men’s golf team competed in the Bayou City Collegiate Classic at the Golfcrest Country Club in Houston on Monday and Tuesday, playing against multiple Southland opponents including Lamar and Sam Houston State.
The team finished 12th out of 14 teams, and although it was the team’s third consecutive tournament finishing 11th or worse, senior Dillon Vaughn said that the team is still focused and has the right mindset going forward.
“Coach preaches that ‘you can’t let your past tournaments affect your future ones,’ and we don’t,” Vaughn said. “He just wants us to keep working hard and not to dwell on the past and He knows that bad tournaments are going to happen and obviously these first three, we just haven’t played well, but we’re staying positive and looking into the future.”
Vaughn, who finished the tournament tied for 60th at 231 said that the course was difficult, but good for the team in this young season.
“The course itself was demanding,” Vaughn said. “You’re missing shots and you’re going to struggle to make pars and that’s what I did. You miss it a little bit in the wrong spot and you can’t really do much from there and I wish I had played better, but it was a fun course and a really fair test.”
The lone bright spot of the team that had four of their five players finish at or worse than 60th place individually was the play of junior Ryan Beatty. Beatty, a transfer this season, finished the tournament tied for ninth at 2-over-par (218), seven strokes behind individual leader Houston’s Matt Dunn, and Vaughn said that Beatty’s play was nothing short of astounding.
“He basically played Ryan Beatty golf,” Vaughn said. “He hits the ball better than pretty much anybody seen or played with and it’s cool to see him playing well because he’s got the potential.”
Heading forward towards the last tournament of the fall season, Vaughn said that he has to play well himself and keep himself focused if he wants to help his team and represent his university well.
“I can’t affect how anybody else plays. I hope all of us could finish one, two, three, four, five, but it’s all about mindset,” Vaughn said. “I went into this tournament a little anxious because I pretty much knew all the teams that were there, a lot of players, and I wanted to prove myself, but I should have been more focused and we’re working on that going forward. ”
The Wildcats will finish their fall season at The Grove Intercollegiate at The Grove Golf Club in College Grove, Tenn. on Oct. 25-27.
