Jordan Smith | Sports Writer
The Baylor Men’s Golf team ended its first tournament of the season this past weekend at Olympia Fields in Illinois. They finished in tenth place, just barely breaking the top ten by one stroke.
Head coach Mike McGraw said in the press conference after the tournament that while he enjoyed the atmosphere of Olympia Fields, he was not satisfied with the results.
“I always love taking a team to Olympia Fields. It is such a terrific golf course. It does a great job of exposing your weaknesses, and it makes every player very aware of things that need attention,” McGraw said. “Although we did not perform well this week, I feel that we have a clearer picture of things that we can improve.”
Sophomore golfer Braden Bailey said that he was looking for one main thing heading into the past weekend.
“For me, I just want to become a little bit more consistent player. I played fairly well last year, especially in the spring. But, I had a couple of really bad tournaments and I just want to make sure those bad tournaments aren’t so bad to where I can’t still contribute to the team and help us post a good score,” Bailey said.
Bailey finished 10 over par, with a final round two over par, for a total weekend stroke count of 220, tying him for 33rd place individually.
McGraw really wanted to see his team start off strong this season, individually and as a whole.
“For one, to get your game competitively sharp. None of these kids have really played much golf competitively for a month and a half. By and large, you just want to make sure that your sharp that way,” McGraw said. “Luckily, the greens here at Ridgewood are very similar to the ones at Olympia Fields. So, speed won’t quite be here what it is there. It will be a little bit faster there. Just want to make sure you are sharp that way and their competitive mindset.”
The Baylor Men’s golf team will continue its season Friday through Sunday at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate at Mirabel Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
