Monday, February 14
Laredo, Texas - Laredo CC
Baylor
at
Border Olympics
MGOLF Set to Open Spring Slate at Border Olympics
2/13/2022 9:17:00 AM | Men's Golf
Seven Bears will compete at Laredo Country Club
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Four months after ending an otherwise forgettable fall season with a pair of wins at the Big 12 Match Play Tournament, the Baylor men's golf team will begin a busy spring schedule at the Border Olympics that begins Monday in Laredo, Texas.
"We didn't start particularly well in the fall, obviously," said Baylor head coach Mike McGraw, whose team posted only one top-10 finish in three fall events. "But, that's so long ago, I don't even think we can relate to the fall. It's been that long ago."
Ranked 43rd by Golfweek and 50th by Golfstat, the Bears are part of a 14-team field at Laredo Country Club that includes seven other top-100 teams. Texas, ranked 17th, will also have four golfers competing as individuals.
Teams will play 36 holes on Monday, with shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., then wrap it up with the final round Tuesday morning.
"In 35 years of coaching, I can't recall an offseason where our guys did more on their own to try to improve," McGraw said. "I'm kind of excited about that, because you just never know how it's going to yield fruit in competition. But, I know we're a better team than we were on Oct. 15."
After losing four seniors from a team that missed advancing to a fifth-straight NCAA Championship by one stroke, McGraw has one of his youngest and certainly least-experienced teams in eight years at Baylor. Fifth-year senior Mark Reppe and junior Johnny Keefer, a two-time All-American, are the only holdovers from last year's NCAA Stillwater Regional lineup.
"We've got a pretty young team, and I think they learned a lot this fall," said Reppe, who was second on the team with a 73.3-stroke average in the fall. "I can already see the improvements we've made. And I'm really excited about the spring, to be honest. I think we're going to see a lot of improvement."
Joining Reppe and Keefer in the team lineup for the Border Olympics are sophomores Trey Bosco and Luke Morgan and freshman Drew Wrightson. Additionally, freshman Zach Heffernan and redshirt junior Tyler Isenhart will play as individuals.
"I love it when there's competition," McGraw said of the team qualifier that was held last week. "When you recruit a kid, you tell him, don't be afraid of competition. That's what you should relish and really enjoy, and they're getting their fill of it this week."
Other than Texas, Baylor is the highest-ranked team in the tournament field. The other top-100 teams (by Golfstat) are UTSA (60th), Sam Houston (62nd), New Mexico State (82nd), Houston (90th), Lamar (96th), ULM (98th) and Michigan (100th). Rounding out the field are Illinois State, Louisiana Tech, ACU, Rice, Houston Baptist and Bowling Green.
After "getting behind the 8-ball" with their fall results, Reppe said the "pressure is there" for the Bears to perform well enough this spring to earn a regional bid. "I know we're way more capable than that."
"I think we're going to take it one tournament at a time and just try to dominate each field we play against, and it will take care of itself," Reppe said.
Keefer, who has a team-best 71.55-stroke average, said the team "has a really good energy, and I think we're going to have a really good spring season. I can't wait to get that started."
Live scoring for the tournament is available at the Border Olympics link.
Following the spring opener in Laredo, Baylor will head to Los Cabos, Mexico, for the Cabo Collegiate Feb. 27-March 1 at the Cabo Del Sol Ocean Course.
WACO, Texas – Baylor men's golf will begin its spring season by making its 29th appearance all-time at the Border Olympics in Laredo Monday morning at Laredo Country Club.
Monday will mark Baylor's first team competition since winning its final two matches at the Big 12 Match Play Championship in mid-October. Head coach Mike McGraw is looking forward to getting his team back on the course and seeing the fruits of their labor during the break.
"I don't even think we can relate to the fall; it's been that long ago," McGraw said. "In 35 years of coaching, I can't recall an offseason where our guys did more on their own to try to improve. I'm excited about that because you just never know how it's going to yield fruit in competition, but I know we're a better team than we were on October 15."
BU's battle on the border will be spearheaded by Johnny Keefer in the No. 1 spot, coming off a fall season where he led the team in stroke average (71.55).
"I'm so excited," Keefer said. "I think this team has a really good energy, and I think we're going to have a really good spring season. I can't wait to get that started."
Mark Reppe will play out of the No. 2 spot for the Bears. All nine of Reppe's stroke-play rounds counted towards the team's score during the fall. He feels like this team is playing better this spring, and he is looking forward to seeing that play out in Laredo.
"It's been really cool to see a lot of the improvements guys have made," he said. "The scores for our last qualifier have been lower than in the fall. You can already see lots of improvement, and that's really exciting to see."
Trey Bosco will play in the No. 3 spot. He is making his first start for the team since the Fighting Illini Invitational in September.
Freshman Drew Wrightson will also be making his first appearance in the lineup since The Fighting Illini Invitational. He earned the No. 4 spot for McGraw after a strong qualifying effort.
Sophomore Luke Morgan will play out of the No. 5 spot. He is making his first start since the Big 12 Match Play, winning his final two matches.
In addition to the five players in the lineup, Baylor will have two individuals in the field. Zach Heffernan will be making his first career start as an individual after a pair of starts in the lineup last fall. Tyler Isenhart will make his second start of the season as an individual after playing in the Little Rock Invitational in late October.
The tournament will begin with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. The team will start on hole Nos. 1-4. Heffernan will start on No. 13 and Isenhart will begin his round on No. 14. Live stats can be found on golfstat.com.
For more information on Baylor Men's Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Baylor Bear Insider
Four months after ending an otherwise forgettable fall season with a pair of wins at the Big 12 Match Play Tournament, the Baylor men's golf team will begin a busy spring schedule at the Border Olympics that begins Monday in Laredo, Texas.
"We didn't start particularly well in the fall, obviously," said Baylor head coach Mike McGraw, whose team posted only one top-10 finish in three fall events. "But, that's so long ago, I don't even think we can relate to the fall. It's been that long ago."
Ranked 43rd by Golfweek and 50th by Golfstat, the Bears are part of a 14-team field at Laredo Country Club that includes seven other top-100 teams. Texas, ranked 17th, will also have four golfers competing as individuals.
Teams will play 36 holes on Monday, with shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., then wrap it up with the final round Tuesday morning.
"In 35 years of coaching, I can't recall an offseason where our guys did more on their own to try to improve," McGraw said. "I'm kind of excited about that, because you just never know how it's going to yield fruit in competition. But, I know we're a better team than we were on Oct. 15."
After losing four seniors from a team that missed advancing to a fifth-straight NCAA Championship by one stroke, McGraw has one of his youngest and certainly least-experienced teams in eight years at Baylor. Fifth-year senior Mark Reppe and junior Johnny Keefer, a two-time All-American, are the only holdovers from last year's NCAA Stillwater Regional lineup.
"We've got a pretty young team, and I think they learned a lot this fall," said Reppe, who was second on the team with a 73.3-stroke average in the fall. "I can already see the improvements we've made. And I'm really excited about the spring, to be honest. I think we're going to see a lot of improvement."
Joining Reppe and Keefer in the team lineup for the Border Olympics are sophomores Trey Bosco and Luke Morgan and freshman Drew Wrightson. Additionally, freshman Zach Heffernan and redshirt junior Tyler Isenhart will play as individuals.
"I love it when there's competition," McGraw said of the team qualifier that was held last week. "When you recruit a kid, you tell him, don't be afraid of competition. That's what you should relish and really enjoy, and they're getting their fill of it this week."
Other than Texas, Baylor is the highest-ranked team in the tournament field. The other top-100 teams (by Golfstat) are UTSA (60th), Sam Houston (62nd), New Mexico State (82nd), Houston (90th), Lamar (96th), ULM (98th) and Michigan (100th). Rounding out the field are Illinois State, Louisiana Tech, ACU, Rice, Houston Baptist and Bowling Green.
After "getting behind the 8-ball" with their fall results, Reppe said the "pressure is there" for the Bears to perform well enough this spring to earn a regional bid. "I know we're way more capable than that."
"I think we're going to take it one tournament at a time and just try to dominate each field we play against, and it will take care of itself," Reppe said.
Keefer, who has a team-best 71.55-stroke average, said the team "has a really good energy, and I think we're going to have a really good spring season. I can't wait to get that started."
Live scoring for the tournament is available at the Border Olympics link.
Following the spring opener in Laredo, Baylor will head to Los Cabos, Mexico, for the Cabo Collegiate Feb. 27-March 1 at the Cabo Del Sol Ocean Course.
WACO, Texas – Baylor men's golf will begin its spring season by making its 29th appearance all-time at the Border Olympics in Laredo Monday morning at Laredo Country Club.
Monday will mark Baylor's first team competition since winning its final two matches at the Big 12 Match Play Championship in mid-October. Head coach Mike McGraw is looking forward to getting his team back on the course and seeing the fruits of their labor during the break.
"I don't even think we can relate to the fall; it's been that long ago," McGraw said. "In 35 years of coaching, I can't recall an offseason where our guys did more on their own to try to improve. I'm excited about that because you just never know how it's going to yield fruit in competition, but I know we're a better team than we were on October 15."
BU's battle on the border will be spearheaded by Johnny Keefer in the No. 1 spot, coming off a fall season where he led the team in stroke average (71.55).
"I'm so excited," Keefer said. "I think this team has a really good energy, and I think we're going to have a really good spring season. I can't wait to get that started."
Mark Reppe will play out of the No. 2 spot for the Bears. All nine of Reppe's stroke-play rounds counted towards the team's score during the fall. He feels like this team is playing better this spring, and he is looking forward to seeing that play out in Laredo.
"It's been really cool to see a lot of the improvements guys have made," he said. "The scores for our last qualifier have been lower than in the fall. You can already see lots of improvement, and that's really exciting to see."
Trey Bosco will play in the No. 3 spot. He is making his first start for the team since the Fighting Illini Invitational in September.
Freshman Drew Wrightson will also be making his first appearance in the lineup since The Fighting Illini Invitational. He earned the No. 4 spot for McGraw after a strong qualifying effort.
Sophomore Luke Morgan will play out of the No. 5 spot. He is making his first start since the Big 12 Match Play, winning his final two matches.
In addition to the five players in the lineup, Baylor will have two individuals in the field. Zach Heffernan will be making his first career start as an individual after a pair of starts in the lineup last fall. Tyler Isenhart will make his second start of the season as an individual after playing in the Little Rock Invitational in late October.
The tournament will begin with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. The team will start on hole Nos. 1-4. Heffernan will start on No. 13 and Isenhart will begin his round on No. 14. Live stats can be found on golfstat.com.
For more information on Baylor Men's Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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