Truman Index

Men’s golf team eyes conference run

Published: Thursday, September 2, 2010

Updated: Thursday, September 2, 2010 01:09

The men's golf team looks to move up the conference leaderboard this year.

The Bulldogs finished fifth in the MIAA Championships last year and return four of the top five spots on the team.

"Really one, two, three and five are coming back this year," co-head coach Tyler Madsen said. "We're in no worse shape than when we left. The way our conference kind of shifted over the summer, we improved by not decreasing."

Seniors Chris Kovach and Andy Herington and junior Nik Bentzinger are the top three returning players for the team.

"Andy Herington and I need to step up and lead the team," Kovach said. "Nik Bentzinger has also been a big help. The rest look up to us as an example, so we're kind of the captains."

Kovach likely will be the top player for Truman. Last year he finished in the top 15 in all but one of the tournaments he played in, including a first-place finish in the Maryville Invite.

Herington and Bentzinger will be the second and third slotted players. Herington averaged nine over per round, while Bentzinger averaged six over.

Madsen said those three will be a big part of how well the team does this season.

"[Kovach has] really been on the circuit for four years," Madsen said. "Nik Bentzinger was All-Conference last year. He really worked a lot over the summer and kind of fine-tuned a couple things. And Andy Herington had a great finish to the year last year."

The biggest loss for the team was Vincent Kurth, who left for pharmacy school.

Kurth played 17 rounds for the Bulldogs last season. His best finish was in the MIAA Championships when he finished in a tie for 12th.

"We're gonna miss Vincent Kurth," Madsen said. "He was really starting to get it together in the end. I wish we had one more year with him. But we have a solid class coming in."

One of the players challenging for the last scoring spot is sophomore Jeff Wrage, who transferred from McCook Community College this year.

"We're fortunate to get him, especially with three years of eligibility left," Madsen said. "He put in a lot of top-10 finishes on his junior college circuit last year."

The Bulldogs also have a lot of experience, which has been lacking on past teams.

"As you get older it gets a lot easier," Madsen said. "You don't have the nerves or the butterflies. You're familiar with the courses that we play. These guys remember everything."

There is no preseason poll for golf in the conference. However, Madsen said the Bulldogs would probably be ranked third or fourth if there were a poll.

The best team in the conference last year was University of Central Missouri. The Mules finished second in the nation last year. They did graduate the No. 2 player in Div. II but still are favored to win the conference.

"There is one team [Central] that is way out in front of everyone else," Madsen said. "Then there are another couple teams, followed by another group of three. I think we're in that cluster of three."

Truman will play Sept. 7 to 8 in the Missouri Intercollegiate Tournament to open the season.  

Last year, Truman opened its season in the same tournament and finished 13th out of 16 teams. Kovach did finish in a tie for 10th place, but no other player finished in the top 30.

"That's at Porto Cima down at the [Lake of the Ozarks]," Madsen said. "A great course, a very challenging course. But it's a good test early on."

The rest of the fall schedule looks much the same, as the Bulldogs will play more of the top courses in Missouri and Iowa.

Truman plays five tournaments in the fall season. Three of those tournaments will be MIAA scoring events, which will count toward the final MIAA rankings.

"I'm excited about our whole fall schedule," Madsen said. "We're going to see a lot of great courses this fall."

Though the course before them looks tough, Truman has high hopes this year.

"It's probably one of our better shots at getting in the top three of the conference," Kovach said. "I think we've got a decent chance of doing it this year."

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