By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
The Bears are coming out of hibernation, waking up to the smells of freshly cut grass and the brisk, soothing sound of a freshly white Pro V1 sailing off a high-set tee. The spring season is right around the corner.
Baylor golf struggled with up-and-down performances in the fall. The Bears finished bottom five in the field in three of five tournaments and finished with a team score below par only once.
“We all agree that we didn’t achieve anything close last semester to what we thought we might be able to this season,” head coach Mike McGraw said. “There were a few flashes of brilliance but putting together good, complete tournaments just didn’t happen.”
Despite a fall season that missed many of the marks the team set for itself, McGraw has full confidence that the potential he sees in his team can make a resurgence this spring.
“We definitely still have the firepower and the players to get ahold of what we could get done,” McGraw said. “There’s some excitement out of the short winter offseason. A lot of guys competed in tournaments and so we’re looking forward to seeing who put in the work during break.”
The Bears have five tournaments ahead of the Big 12 Championship this spring. First on the schedule for the green and gold will be the Bentwater Collegiate tournament hosted by Sam Houston State in Montgomery.
“Bentwater is really on the mind right now as we hope to get things turned around in a big way,” McGraw said. “We need to figure out how to make excellence the bar to meet, and not mediocrity. Good golf is always just one swing away; it’s never as far away as you think it is. If the guys could get rolling on the right path early, then we could really start to get things done.”
McGraw has high hopes for his team to turn it around this spring and is eyeing the Bentwater Collegiate as a potential strong start.
“[We] would love to have a chance to win,” McGraw said. “We get to bring three individual players, so we’ll get to see where everybody’s game is at with eight guys there. I’m excited to get a measuring stick about where we are and where our guys are.”
At the helm of the team in his final semester at Baylor is senior Jonas Appel. Appel has been the Bears’ best competitor this season, posting three top-20 finishes and a top-10 finish in Hawaii at the Kapolei Collegiate this fall.
The senior distance-driver is averaging par for the season in each of his showings, leading the way for the Bears.
“Jonas has been playing some great golf for us lately,” McGraw said. “Yet I still believe his best golf is in front of him.”
Following the Bentwater Collegiate, the Bears will journey south of the border to Los Cabos, Mexico, to compete in the Cabo Collegiate.
“It’s probably one of our most enjoyable trips of the year,” McGraw said. “We stay with a donor who lives at the golf course, so we never have to leave the golf course. It’s a lot of fun, we get to eat all our meals at the course or at the beach at night.”
The Bears will travel to Montgomery on Feb. 9 for the two-day Bentwater Collegiate. The tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.
