Twelve golf programs from all over the Midwest will descend on Bowling Green this week to tee it up in the John Piper Intercollegiate.
The tournament will be held at Stone Ridge Golf Club, a 7,064 yard, par-72 layout on the west side of the city. It will consist of 54 holes of stroke play beginning this morning at 8 a.m. The first two rounds will be completed today, with the third round set to get underway at 8:30 tomorrow morning.
Notable participants in the event include: Cleveland St., Dayton and defending champion Ohio University.
One distinct advantage the Falcons will have on the competition, however, is the fact that Stone Ridge is their home course, where they practice the vast majority of the time.
‘Our guys definitely feel comfortable here [at Stone Ridge],’ said coach Garry Winger. ‘They know where and where not to miss.’
Sophomore Parker Hewit agreed with his coach’s assessment of the course.
‘Playing at Stone Ridge a lot certainly helps,’ Hewit said. ‘As I go around practicing, I am able to formulate a game plan and get a general idea of how I will play certain holes.’
Fellow sophomore Drew Preston said there are lots of positives to the course.
‘There is a lot of room in the fairways here, which provides a nice opportunity to attack some holes,’ Preston said.
A possible counterbalance to any home-course advantage will be the fact that the Falcons, like all the other teams, will have to undergo the rigors of walking the entire 54 holes on a sprawling golf course.
The players will get no respite in between their first and second rounds, going from the 18th green straight back to first tee. The endurance test is an element of college golf most people overlook and one he believes will be crucial in determining this week’s outcome Winger said.
‘People who aren’t familiar with college golf don’t realize how much of a toll it [walking the whole way] can take,’ Winger said. ‘These guys don’t get a break between rounds; they literally eat lunch walking down the fairway. Fortunately our players put a lot of work into physical fitness. Our strength and conditioning coach does a terrific job at working them out.’
In the individual competition, one of the main storylines figures to center on Falcon senior – and the defending champion – Matt Schneider.
A year ago, Schneider engaged in a tight duel with then-freshman John Mlynarski of Ohio. After three rounds, the two competitors found themselves deadlocked at two-under-par, forcing a sudden death playoff that Schneider won with a par on the first hole.
Coming into his senior year, Schneider would love to replicate last season’s win, while also adding a team title. Winger believes his squad, which finished third last year, may be poised to do just that.
‘We have our sights set on a really high finish,’ Winger said. ‘We have a lot of depth, and everyone seems to be playing really well right now.’
-The full list of teams competing this week includes: BG, Cleveland St., IPFW, Ohio University, Owens Community College, St. Bonaventure, Dayton, Indianapolis, Wisc.-Green Bay, Loyola-Chicago, Valparaiso, and Youngstown St.
-The namesake of the tournament, John Piper, coached the Falcon golf team for 13 years, posting MAC Titles in 1972, 73 and 78. During his tenure, Piper’s teams won 20 MAC titles and posted a winning percentage of .671. He was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
