John Bray
It was another exceptional weekend for Lords golf, who stormed into Danville, Ind. this past weekend for the DePauw Small College Classic.
Saturday’s play got off to a slow start, but the Lords performed well later in the day. Kenyon ended the day with a team score of 308, trailing Marian University (Ind.) by only two strokes.
As the story has gone all season, the Lords picked up their play and rose to the occasion on Sunday’s final round. The Lords tallied a team score of 298, 10 strokes better than on the previous day. Marian also shot a 298, and for the second time in two weeks, the Lords had to settle for second place.
Despite the great finishes, the Lords are always looking to improve their art. One component to that is being mentally focused and confident every time they hit the course.
“We just have to go out there with confidence and battle,” Co-Captain Alex Blickle ’15 said. “Golf is tough — you will have days where you struggle. But if we can keep our heads in it and stay confident, we can eliminate the high scores.”
This was a special weekend for the senior, who stood atop the medalists’ stand after shooting a 144 even-par on the weekend.
Blickle recalled the dramatic finish, saying, “I birdied the last to win by one [stroke]. But after double-bogey on the 12th to go down three [strokes], I eagled the 13th to get the lead back to one [stroke]. I felt really good after that.”
The dynamic duo of Jake Fait ’16 and Jordan Harlacher ’16 also had a great weekend. Coming out with NCAC Golfer of the Week honors, Fait shot 151 on the weekend, placing him in a tie for third-place. Harlacher rounded out the Lords’ top-10 finishers with a score of 154, good enough for an eighth-place tie.
The fall season finale will take place this upcoming weekend. Kenyon hosts its own invitational on Sunday and Monday and is poised to win. All the Lords will be playing on a familiar course, but Blickle especially has reason to be excited.
“My dad and grandma will be there to watch,” Blickle said. “We are going to try to continue to build on our recent success.”