Coach Brian Quinn said his team put itself “behind the eight ball” after a poor first round at the 30th annual Georgetown Intercollegiate.
“Very disappointed,” Quinn said of his team’s first-round performance. “[The first round] we came out flat … the conditions weren’t great … we just kind of got rolling in the wrong direction and we honestly could not get anything going.”
The team, which shot a 595 for the tournament and finished in ninth, found itself placed 11th out of 12 teams after the first round. Junior Brandon Matthews was the only golfer to finish at a par 71 after the round, while the rest of the team finished at least five strokes over par.
“We have a lot of mistakes,” Quinn said. “We have kids making mistakes, putting up too many big numbers on holes. To be honest it was a disappointing week.”
The second round was a different story for Quinn’s squad. Only three other schools shot a better score than the Owls, who shaved 13 strokes off their first-round score with a 291. But Matthews, who finished tied for seventh place, knows the team can and needs to do better.
“It was still not great,” Matthews said of the team’s second-round performance. “We had an average day [Tuesday]. It wasn’t unbelievable.”
Two key members of the team, seniors Matthew Teesdale and Pat Ross, struggled both days. Ross, who finished tied for 36th, shot a combined 9-over and Teesdale, who finished tied for 58th, shot a combined 15-over.
“Those guys have just been struggling and we need to get them going,” Quinn said.
Two players who impressed Quinn and Matthews were freshmen Mark Farley and Evan Thornton. Farley shot a nine over-par the first round, but came back the second day and shot a 70. Thornton, who shot seven over par the first round, shot a 74 on Tuesday.
“With these kids playing the way they are, we should have an opportunity to win every single event we play,” Quinn said.
“Mark Farley played outstanding,” Matthews said. “I was extremely proud of him and I’m so happy for him … hopefully he keeps it up because he is playing outstanding.”
Michael Guise can be reached at michaelguise@temple.edu or on Twitter @Michael_Guise.
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