What a difference four golf shots can make.
You are playing hole No. 18, a par-4, at your favorite municipal course. You are on pace to shoot your best round ever. All you need is a par.
Instead you shank the drive into the trees, punch out and into the rough, find the greenside bunker, take two strokes to get out and onto the green, then three-putt for an eight.
This is an extreme example, of course. You will most certainly notice those four strokes over par that kept you from your best round ever. But playing on a team with three other people, the four strokes between you that keep you from a team win will seem negligible at best.
That is what happened Oct. 3 to the Saint Xavier Cougar men’s golf team. The four players with qualifying scores were bested by just four strokes at the Trinity Christian Troll Classic, the final men’s golf event of the fall season.
The second-place finish ended the season on a strong note. After their sole win at the Mike Lalaeff Memorial Invitational on Sept. 16 and 17, the Cougars placed third twice before this most recent runner-up showing.
The nine-team Troll Classic, held at Calumet Country Club in Homewood, Ill., was won by the team from Chicago State University. But their margin of victory over the Cougars was quite thin.
A team score of 302—which the Cougars posted—is respectable. But 298 is better.
Senior James Kerr was the most efficient Cougar in making his way around the course. His even-par back nine helped him to a strong 74 and a fifth-place individual finish.
The native of Donegal, Ireland, was just a stroke ahead of his teammate, Kirby Brown. Kerr’s fellow senior shot 38 on the front and 37 on the back to get himself in a tie for sixth place in individual scoring.
Brendan Ryan kept pace with his fellow upperclassmen. The senior shot matching 38s en route to a five-over 76 and a tie for eighth place.
The only Cougar who failed to place in the top ten of individual scoring (and only non-senior golfer with a qualifying score) was Kyle Bahnick, who still managed a tie for 11th place.
The junior’s 39 on the back nine holes following a front-nine 38 meant that the four Cougars shot 74, 75, 76 and 77, respectively. Even though it was not a team win, the scoring was certainly a math major’s sequential dream.
Although the Cougars placed second by just four strokes, the winning Chicago State team was not as consistent as the Saint Xavier squad. They had two players, David Keenan and Miles Bailey, who shot even par, which was the catalyst for their team victory.
However, the other two players who posted qualifying scores were not as good as the Cougars’ bottom two. Keith Haines shared the No. 11 spot with Bahnick, as he shot a respectable 77. Chicago State’s highest-scoring player was Dan Patkunas, who shot a 79.
Though it will not always lead to a team win—as seen in this case—there is something to be said for scoring consistency among each of the four players.
A close grouping of scores is great, but just a stroke fewer for each Cougar would have handed them a tie for the team win.
What a difference four strokes can make.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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