As defending Big Ten champions, the MSU men’s golf team hopes to earn another win at the Big Ten Championships at Forest Akers West Golf Course this weekend.
Under new head coach Sam Puryear, the team has matured and deepened since the fall. The team has had one win and five second place finishes this season.
“We’ve had several different guys step up over the fall, and now this spring we’ve had a team that’s more stable. I think we’ll be good to go,” said sophomore Jack Newman, one of the team’s top five golfers.
Every one of MSU’s men who has traveled and played in a tournament has broken par, Puryear said.
“I think (balance) has probably been our strength. If you look at what we’ve done since August, we’ve had consistency,” he said.
In the last five weeks of the season, six players have had strong performances, said Puryear. Two different golfers won, two finished in second place, and two others had top 10 finishes.
Senior Ryan Brehm has been leading the team this season, with four tournament wins. But his demeanor and talent have established him as a candidate to golf professionally, Puryear said.
“He has the right demeanor where he’s not too high, and he’s not too low. He can realize that golf is a roller coaster — sometimes you just got to buckle up and sit along for the ride,” Puryear said.
This weekend, Brehm could be looking at his third Big Ten Championship win. MSU men’s golf won the tournament in 2005 and 2007.
“I think the team is heading in the right direction this spring,” Newman said. “I think we’re due for another win, and now that we’re on our home course, hopefully that will be a little advantage for us.”
After playing four years at Forest Akers West, Brehm said the home turf might make all the difference.
“In golf, it’s the different surfaces week-in and week-out that you go through,” he said. “If you give an opposing team one day to try and prepare as well as we have in four years, they’re not going to be able to do that. We’ve seen everything this course has to offer in every different circumstance.”
The golfers will use this tournament to prepare for the rest of the postseason. After the Big Ten Championship, the men will head to Columbus for the NCAA Central Regionals.
“We’re going to play in regionals, we’re going to play at Ohio State most likely, and we’re going to need to play well there in order to get to nationals. This week is really just a tune-up for that,” Brehm said.
MSU needs to be consistent and play a smart game to win the Big Ten, Puryear said.
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