The Augustana men’s and women’s golf teams were back on the green this past weekend of April 26-27, where they hosted the Viking Invitational at Highland Springs Golf Course in Rock Island. Both the men’s and women’s teams have had a great season so far, with the men’s team recently finishing second in the Knox Invitational and the women’s team finishing seventh in the Cardinal Classic.
With both the men’s and women’s teams having only two home invitationals this season, they have been on the road for most of the season. Now, they will have the advantage of hosting the Viking Invitational, which both teams won in the previous season.
Both teams played on the Highland Springs course for their first match of the season in the fall semester, the Highland Championship, on Sept. 1-2. The men’s team finished third in the event, while the women’s team finished first. One member of the men’s golf team, First-Year Drake Stoudt, sees playing at home as beneficial for the Vikings, as they are more familiar with the course than any other team that will compete.
“We all played the course so much,” Stoudt said. “Most teams that are coming here probably have never played the course or maybe only played it two or three times, but we get the advantage of playing there two or three times a week.”
The women’s team has finished first in the Viking Invitational each of the past four years. However, a big part of golf and how well golfers shoot is dependent on the weather. While the weather has been different for each season, the team is optimistic about their chances of winning it this year, but they know the weather will still play a crucial role in how they do. Junior Abby Buechele, a member of the women’s golf team, wants a change in the weather compared to previous years when she has competed at the invitational.
“Going into this year, I think we are hoping for good weather,” Buechele said. “The past couple of years have been super windy and rainy and just tragic, but I think we’re all very confident when we go into that tournament. I think that’s a huge game changer for us, being able to go in and know exactly what to do.”
As the teams prepared for the Viking Invitational, they focused on areas that could be improved, which were a big factor in how they performed at the event. Senior Kelsey O’Connor and the team spent practice sessions working on the finer details of their short game, knowing how crucial it is to capitalize on opportunities around the green.
“This is a tournament where you need to have a good short game,” O’Connor said. “A lot of the time, your second shot is not going to get there, especially with the wind being how it is, you’re probably gonna miss, and your short game needs to be on point. That’s something that our coach is pushing for us now, working on the 30 yards and in shots. I think that’s a huge thing we all need to work on right now.”
After the final hole, the men’s team finished in first place out of nine teams, winning their second straight Viking Invitational. In fact, the A team’s final score of 597 tied a two-day record that was set back in 2005 on the course. Sophomore Alexandre Thery came in first with a total score of 143, or one stroke below par, while sophomore Jacob Brokaw placed in a three-way tie for second with a final score of 144.
The women’s A team placed second in the event with a total score of 646, only behind Lake Forest College. Sophomore Sarah Bond led the team with a fourth-place finish and scored a total of 156, while junior Georgia Holt placed fifth with a score of 158. O’Connor finished in a tie for eleventh after her score of 164, hitting 81 in day one and 83 in day two of the event.
After the Viking Invitational, the men’s team will look ahead to the CCIW championship, which take place in Peoria, Illinois, on Thursday, May 1 through Saturday, May 3. Last year, the Vikings placed third in the championship, but this year, the team hopes to have a better outcome.
