It’s out of the snow and back to the links for the Bowling Green men’s golf team.
The Falcons are Florida-bound after a four-month-long off-season and will compete in the Irish Spring Invitational in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. on Monday and Tuesday. It will be the first time that the team has played in this tournament.
The tournament field will consist of 12 teams, including Ball State, who is also in the MAC, Cleveland State, Colorado State, Eastern Kentucky, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Richmond, San Diego State, Washington State and Wichita State.
The Falcons are led by senior Craig Pickerel, who last fall was the team leader gaining a second-place finish in the John Piper Intercollegiate and a 15th place finish in the Hawkeye Invitational. He also shot a team-low 74.53 average. Senior Heath Ziglar also finished the fall strongly with a 74.83 scoring average.
To have a strong spring though, BG head coach Garry Winger knows that Pickerel and Ziglar both need to improve after a disappointing fall season.
“It all starts with those two, they didn’t play up to their capabilities this fall,” said Winger. “We need their leadership to help us this spring, especially with the younger guys.” The rest of the field for BG will consist of senior Heath Ziglar, junior Chris Leake, and freshmen Jace Walker and Trevor Spethalf.
“Both Jace and Trevor got their feet wet this fall,” said Winger. “It is not often when freshmen will step in right away and get immediate playing time. They are both looking to have strong spring campaigns.”
Winger is in his seventh year guiding the Falcons, is excited about his team getting back into competition, but knows there is much room for improvement this fall.
“Obviously, we are looking to improve by playing a little more consistent then we did this fall and we need the guys to step up,” said Winger.
Before the tournament starts Monday, the Falcons will be able to get out of the cold Northwest Ohio weather and get a workout in.
“We’re going to get one round of practice in, which is good because the winter can cause players to lose their feel around the course,” said Winger.
The Irish Spring Invitational is the first of five spring tournaments that the Falcons will participate in prior to playing in the MAC Championship in Westerville, Ohio.
