The Northern Michigan University men’s golf team competed in the Battle at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5.Sophomore Austin Elsner won his first career individual title after shooting a two-round 146 (75-71) on the par 72 on the TPC Myrtle Beach Golf Course.
“The feeling of winning was indescribable,” Elsner said. “To finally have all my hard work pay off and win my first down at TPC was a great moment for me and my very supportive teammates who backed me the whole way.”
As a team, the ’Cats took fifth out of 11 teams by shooting a 620 (309-311).Freshman Owen Beyer finished t-19th, junior Emil Lundgren finished t-25th, freshman Martin Eliasson finished t-27th and senior Alex Palmer finished t-48th to round out the Wildcat competitors.
“The team was able to enjoy their spring break in Myrtle Beach and shake off rust from the winter,” head coach Kyle Wittenbach said. “Elsner had a great week and took home the title of tournament medalist, which is always a great accomplishment.”
The men’s team will compete at the GLIAC South Invitational at the Andover Country Club in Lexington, Ky. on Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26.
“Everyone is excited for this next tournament,” Wittenbach said.
The women’s golf team will be competing for the first time this spring in the Perry Park Spring Fling on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20 in Perry
Park, Ky.
“Both teams’ preparation has been the same this winter,” Wittenbach said. “We are training through private lessons given by myself and assistant coach Bob Bastian in the golf simulator, as well as morning conditioning three times a week.”
To finish the fall season, the men’s team competed at the Kohler Collegiate Classic in Sheboygan, Wis. and finished second out of 19.The women’s team finished their fall season by competing in the Battle in Belmont in Belmont, Mich. and finished in sixth place out of seven teams.Leading the Wildcats was freshman Karissa Guthrie, who finished in a tie for 19th. The next Wildcat finisher was freshman Baylee Dunmire, who finished in a tie for 28th.Elsner and the rest of the team are thinking positive about the rest of this season.
“Going into the rest of the season, we are going to make a statement and continue our play like we did in the fall,” Elsner said. “I am very excited for my teammates, and I hope to get back out there and try to bring back the GLIAC championships and make it to Nationals, which has been our goal from the beginning.”
