Temple wrapped up its second event of the spring season on Tuesday finishing in 13th place in the Kingsmill Intercollegiate. Nine schools finished below the Owls, who carded a cumulative score of 902 in three rounds which was 62 strokes over par. The University of Tennessee won the event with a three-round team score of +10.
Just eight strokes separated Temple’s lowest scorer in the tournament and the Owls’ highest scorers. Redshirt sophomore John Barone finished with a 222 to lead the Owls. Redshirt freshman Erik Reisner and junior Mark Farley both finished with a 230. Sophomore Trey Wren and freshman Marty McGuckin both posted scores of 229.
After finishing second-to-last in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, coach Brian Quinn held back judgement for the spring season given it was his team’s first event coming out of the winter. The Owls were on a new course and multiple players said the field featured lots of upper echelon college golf programs. But Quinn did not hold back this time after his team struggled again.
“Disappointing,” was all Quinn said when asked to sum up the team’s three days in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The team spent its spring break in Coral Springs, Fla. practicing and avoiding the wintry conditions in the northeast. None of the Owls were looking to make excuses after another lackluster performance.
“It’s still early in the season but that’s no excuse,” Barone said. “We’ve been away for a while practicing our shots.”
Following a week of practice in Florida, Farley, one of the most experienced golfers on this year’s roster, sensed that the Owls were ready for the Kingsmill Intercollegiate given it is an event many have played in before. Farley shared Barone and Quinn’s disappointment.
“We were looking forward to this,” Farley said. “A lot of the guys were familiar with the course.”
Farley and Barone both noted they felt their short games from 50 yards and in need to improve heading into this weekend’s Furman Intercollegiate in Greenville, South Carolina. Quinn felt this was particularly problematic for Temple in Monday’s second round, which was the Owls’ lowest team round of the event. He said if his team played better closer to the pin, it could have entered Tuesday’s final round in the top five on the leaderboard rather than being tied for 11th place after two rounds.
If there was a silver lining for the Owls, it would be McGuckin competing in his first event of the spring. In the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, sophomore Sam Soeth participated in place of McGuckin. Quinn said the true McGuckin’s spot is safe in the lineup and he held McGuckin out of the first event of the spring for academic reasons.
“Marty’s in,” Quinn said. “He needed to get a little more comfortable with his academics and making the change from high school to college. I just believe that academics are more important. He’s an incredibly talented young kid.”
More than anyone else, Quinn felt like Barone and Wren’s scores were the biggest cause for Temple’s struggles in Williamsburg.
“Trey’s not trusting himself and Johnny has to believe that he’s really good,” Quinn said. “Trey just didn’t get it done on the golf course at all.”
The Owls have just three days before the Furman Intercollegiate, another event many have played in before, begins on Friday.
Greg Frank can be reached at Greg.Frank@temple.edu or on Twitter @g_frank6.
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