Samford Golf is back on the links, as both the men’s and women’s teams seasons are in full swing. However, both teams are looking to improve as the year progresses.
Samford men’s golf had its season debut at the Golfweek Fall Challenge in Myrtle Beach and tied for fourth at the end of the tournament. Freshman Matthew Smith led the way for the Bulldogs, finishing in 19th place. Brian Boles and Dylan Moncys tied for 25th, as well. This was a promising start to the season for Samford, leading them well heading into the SIUE Dolenc Invitational in Edwardsville, Illinois.
However, in a disappointing showing, the Bulldogs placed 12th out of 16 teams. Although the turnout in Illinois wasn’t the showing they’d hoped for, Head Coach Al DelGreco said the team “still had some great plays. It’s still early on in the season, and anything can happen.”
DelGreco also commented that the team is focused on “correcting the mistakes and improving consistency.”
“It’s a good group of men with a lot of talent,” he said.
The team has taken great strides from last year with an improvement of +2.41 in individual average stroke and +9.64 in the team’s average stroke.
The team will next travel to Greensville, South Carolina, on Oct. 22-23 for the Furman Invitational. On the women’s side, the Bulldogs started their season at the UAB Invitational, where they placed 10th.
Coach Joe Davidson said that the Bulldogs were “shaking off the rust” on the first day but “had a much better go around the second day.” Since the invitational, Davidson and the team are “grinding right now” to prepare for their next invitational in Jonesboro, Arkansas, at the Lady Redwolves Classic hosted by Arkansas State.
According to Davidson, “practices have felt better, and there’s been some major improvement.”
He said he has high hopes for the team when they travel to Jonesboro.
“[They’ve] played the course before and did well,” Davidson said.
Davidson highly regards players Sophie Membrino, Bailey Dunstan and Kelley Topiwala, as he “expects a lot out of them” this season. He believes those three girls and standout sophomore Christian Williams are “what the team needs to pull together to give us a chance this season.”
This next invitational will be the team’s first true road test this season, but with last year’s eight top 10 finishes, things are looking optimistic for the women’s golf team.
Sports Editor
