HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. — While it is true that a team cannot win a golf tournament with one good day, that same team can lose it with one bad day. The Wittenberg men's golf team appeared to be headed for the latter in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament before a tremendous back-nine rally kept the 20th-ranked Tigers in contention.
Playing the far more challenging El Campeon Course on the tourney's first day, Wittenberg struggled to keep pace but wound up solidly in the middle of the pack. The Tigers completed the 6,926-yard, par-72 course — which one veteran coach estimated was playing 6-to-8 strokes more difficult — with a team total of 309 to stand in a four-way tie for 20th place in the 41-team field.
Four of Wittenberg's five golfers carded a better score on the back nine than the front nine, keyed by a tremendous performance from the Nos. 4 and 5 players in the line-up. Senior Jordan Millice (Cable, Ohio/Triad) birdied three of the last five holes to finish with a six-over-par 78 after making the turn at five-over-par. Sophomore David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) was six-over-par after his opening nine holes, but he also picked it up on the back nine to shoot even-par 37 to finish with a 78.
"I was proud of the fight that David and Jordan put into their rounds," said three-time North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coach of the Year Jeff Roope. "If we do achieve any of our goals this week, it will be because they were able to grind it out over their second nine holes."
Sophomore Jack Uecker (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) led Wittenberg in the opening round with a 75. The key to his round was a three-birdie stretch between the ninth and 11th holes, although he capped his day with a disappointing double-bogey to settle for a three-over-par score that puts him in a tie for 44th place in the individual standings.
Rounding out the Tigers' point-scorers was freshman Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy), who shot a solid three-over-par on both sides to finish with a 78.
Host Oglethorpe stands atop the standings after the opening day with a score of three-under-par 285, good for a four-stroke lead over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Christopher Newport. Interestingly, the top eight teams in the Day 1 standings all played the 6,895-yard, par-72 Las Colinas Course.
That will be the course where Wittenberg tees it up in the second round. For all of their opening round struggles, the Tigers stand just nine strokes out of the top 10, a position that would guarantee a full four days of competition in the Florida sunshine.
Photos By: Jason Roberts