The TCU men’s golf team finished its fall season with a 12th-place finish at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga., this weekend, a tournament that the head coach said was one of the most difficult of the season.The tournament featured 18 teams, some of which are the best in the nation, said head coach Bill Montigel.
“But I would have liked to finish higher,” he said. “We could have done better.”
The greens were perfect, but the team had a terrible first round and Sunday was breezy, Montigel said.
Montigel said TCU’s toughest competition was No. 17 Georgia State, which won with an 8-under-par 856.r.
TCU finished at 27-over-par 891. Robby Ormand tied for 22nd, Jon McLean tied for 34th, Drew Laning tied for 50th, Franklin Corpening tied for 64th and Jesse Speirs tied for 79th.
Ormand, a freshman, finished 1 under par Sunday, only 1 stroke away from a debut in the top 20.
It was a career best for Ormand, and Montigel said he played well.
Laning, a senior said he didn’t play his best and it was one of his worst tournaments of the fall.
“I hit the ball well, but I didn’t putt well at all,” he said.
Speirs, a freshman, said the greens were difficult and the weekend was a learning experience.
“I’m just taking it with a grain of salt,” Speirs said. “Now I’ll focus on getting ready for the spring.”
Montigel said it was good exposure for his players to compete with the best.
“Anytime you play that type of competition, it’s really good for the guys,” Montigel said. “Being around those players makes you better because you see ways to improve your game.”
Laning, who was playing the course for a second time, said it was a great experience.
“It’s always fun playing against those guys,” Laning said. “You learn things because those guys are good at everything.”
Montigel said his young team, which includes four freshmen and two sophomores, made too many mistakes and needs to learn to save strokes.
“In my 18 years of coaching, this is the most talent I’ve had,” Montigel said. “It’ll just take them a while to learn what to do.”
