By CAITLIN HOFEN, Student Reporter
Northwestern’s men’s golf team has played most of its five-tournament regular season schedule before post-season play.
The team opened its season at the Natural State Classic on March 2. The golf tournament was hosted by Harding University at the Greystone Country Club in Cabot, Arkansas.
The Rangers finished the tournament with 666 points. They finished in front of Lincoln University and Newman University.
Luke Cooley led the Rangers with 160 points after two rounds of 18-holes. Tyler Berryhill and Cade Seymour finished behind Cooley with 163 and 170 points.
Tanner Griffith finished the tournament with 176 points. Ben Baker rounded out the team’s scoring with 179 points.
For the next tournament, the Rangers traveled to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to compete in the Battle for the Belt on March 8 and 9. The golf tournament was hosted by Henderson State University at the Hot Springs Country Club.
The team finished in 9th place after scoring 963 points over three rounds.
Cooley led Northwestern after he finished the tournament tied for 28th place. He finished with 232 points. Baker followed Cooley with 240 points.
He finished tied for 41st place with two other golfers.
Keenan Hofstad recorded 246 points over three rounds. He tied with an Oklahoma Baptist golfer at 49th place. Tyler Berryhill tallied an overall score of 249 points. He finished in a tie for 53rd place.
Cade Seymour rounded out the scoring for the Red-and-Black after finishing in a tie for 56th place with 253 points.
The Rangers finished in eighth place at the Hillcat Classic on March 15 and 16. The tournament was hosted by Rogers State University and played at the Bailey Ranch Golf Club in Owasso.
The team finished with a 959 team score, which put them in 8th place above two other teams.
Hofstad led Northwestern after he finished the tournament tied for seventh place. He finished with 224 after three rounds of 18-holes.
Cooley recorded 241 points for the Rangers. He finished in a three-way tie for 29th place. Baker followed Cooley with 246 points.
Juan Gui Angarita finished his first golf tournament of the year with 253 points. Griffith finished with 258 points for Northwestern. Zac Caldwell rounded out the team scoring for the Rangers after he finished the tournament with 259 points.
The team’s next tournament was in Topeka, Kansas, at the Washburn Invitational on March 22 and 23. The tournament was hosted by Washburn University at the Topeka Country Club.
Cooley led the team with 234 points, which helped him finish in 42nd place as an individual. Seymour followed Cooley with 237 points. Seymour finished in a tie for 49th place.
Hofstad finished in a tie for 57th place after recording 239 points. Baker and Berryhill both recorded 247 points and tied for 70th place.
The team finished with 947 points after three rounds of golf. The Rangers finished 11th place.
Head coach Nikkole Donk said the team has goals for the season.
“I really want our team to have top ten finishes and a top five finish at conference,” Donk said. “Some team goals are to shoot in the 200s as a team.
They really just want to beat their score the next day and see how low they can go.”
Seymour, a freshman from Buckeye, Arizona, said the team needs consistency to play better.
“I think we all have goals for ourselves, but as a team, I think one of our big goals is to be able to break a team score of 300 consistently,” Seymour said.
The team has one more regular season tournament before the Great American Conference championship tournament on April 19 and 20.