Golf is not usually thought of as an indoor sport, but for the St. Bonaventure golf team, indoor practice has been going on for months. So, when the first invitational of the spring season took place last month, it came as no surprise that the Bonnies did not play their best.
Last weekend, the golfers got another chance to play outside at the Cape Fear Intercollegiate tournament in Cape Fear, North Carolina. This time, they were ready, placing sixth out of 12 teams.
Re-adjusted to hitting balls off the fairway, the Bonnies travelled to North Carolina confident in their abilities and determined to do well. For St. Bonaventure, the highlight of the tournament was the play of junior Josh Stauffer. The all- conference player shot a three-round score of 219, good enough for a second-place finish. Junior Darren Simons shot 233, placing 36th, and one stroke behind him was junior Pat Milkovich.
“I think we improved a lot [since the last invitational],” Simons said. “We got more comfortable with hitting balls outside because we had been hitting balls inside all winter. All swings were better in general, and our putting was better too.”
Milkovich, Simons’ roommate and teammate, agreed.
“I think our mentality was pretty big,” Milkovich said. “We left with a positive note. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to the first couple rounds, but we got it together the last day, put in some good swings, and made a good effort for a good score.”
Stauffer’s performance was not lost on his teammates, who lauded high level of play.
“He’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Milkovich said. “He’s finding the fairway, making the putts for birdie and has got a really strong game right now. Josh is really helping out the team.”
The Bonnies have some talented golfers, and as Simons knows, each invitational the team plays in leading up to the Atlantic 10 Championship is a valuable opportunity to get outside and improve.
The next time the Bonnies tee-off will be March 28 at the Whiting Turner Invitational in Grasonville, Maryland. Twenty-two teams will compete in the event.
“We need to continue to finish in the top half of every tournament we play in,” Simons said. That’s a measurable goal. We can’t really say that we’re going to win every tournament, but finishing in the top half of each tournament is something we can do. I’m not sure exactly who we’re playing against in Maryland, but a good goal would be to take second or third. A top-three finish is always good.”
As the schedule progresses toward the conference invitational, hopes are high for the Bonnies. With Stauffer playing well and with Simons fully healthy after battling a wrist injury last semester, the team knows that success is expected.
“We have a great chance to compete for an A-10 title,” Simons said. “Everyone just needs to put a few good rounds together. It’s tough to get four good rounds in the same tournament, but we have a good enough team to compete.”
