Two consecutive weeks off led to the Colonial golf team’s best single-round performance of the year at the Old Dominion/Seascape Tournament in Kitty Hawk, N.C.
However, GW (620) could not maintain the great play in the second round and finished last in the 21-team field.
An opening round 301 put the Colonials in contention with a field, head coach Scott Allen said was the best GW has faced. According to Allen, GW’s first round caught the attention of the other coaches.
“The play in the first round meant a lot to the program,” Allen said.
Senior Luis Barrutieta (148, 35th place) once again was the Colonials’ top scorer, including a first-round score of even-par 72.
Barrutieta has been saddled this year with the responsibility of aiding the team freshmen. Three freshmen started at ODU. Allen said Barrutieta, whose play is returning to last year’s standards, is really helping the freshmen.
“Luis has done a good job. He works very hard on trying to get the guys to learn about the game,” Allen said. “Luis is a little more mature player than the rest of them, and he tries his best to impart that maturity to the other guys.”
The Seascape Course is a links-style golf course set on the Atlantic Ocean. The blustery second-round conditions blew away any chance of a top-10 finish for GW.
After just one Colonial scored higher than 80 in the first round, three failed to break the barrier in round two, including freshmen Darren Ressler (157) and Gavin Parsons (159).
“The course played a lot tougher on the second day. We’re still learning how to play with adversity,” Allen said.
With just two tournaments remaining in the fall season, Allen said the team’s chances of earning an NCAA tournament berth are “slim.”
“I think I have a team with enough talent. It is just a matter of when these guys are going to put it together,” Allen said.
Allen said, fortunately for GW, the true battle for NCAA spots really begins this weekend at the James Madison Fall Classic, where GW will compete with fellow District II schools.
“If we play well at JMU, we can erase some of our up-and-down-play this fall,” Allen said.
