Warsaw, IN — With the Mid-Central Conference Championships just days away, Goshen College head men’s golf coach Cory Furman has reason to be optimistic.
His team is playing its best golf at precisely the right time.
Goshen fired a 337 team score at Thursday’s Grace College Invitational, surpassing its 354 team card at Tuesday’s Purdue University-North Central match (click here for related article) and setting a new program low in the Furman tenure: Thursday’s score was the Leafs’ lowest card in the last four years on a course other than home layout Timber Ridge. Only Goshen’s 332 at the 2006 Goshen Invitational (click here for article) and its 333 at this year’s Goshen Invite (click here for article) bettered Thursday’s result at Rozella Ford Golf Course.
“This was a very good display for us today,” Furman said. “We had some good golf being played by a variety of guys, and that’s what led to our score. We didn’t have absolutely great golf by anyone in particular, but we were solid. We have lofty yet realistic goals here. Our push is to get a score in the 320’s. It will be tough this week (at the MCC Championships) but it’s our goal.”
Goshen’s score was a result of steady consistency — no Leaf golfer fired lower than an 83 — as the Leafs’ highest accepted score was only an 85. Senior and unattached golfer Tyler Roth took team low honors with an 83, while freshman Taylor TenHarmsel was next in line with an 84.
TenHarmsel’s score was unique in the fact that it came via a 46-38 breakdown, the latter being the team’s lowest nine-hole score this season.
“Taylor went from not making great contact with the ball to really figuring out his swing at the turn,” Furman said. “His score could have easily been in the 70’s if he shot even an average nine on the front.”
Senior Luke Penner and unattached senior Chad Unrein each carded 85’s in Goshen’s final two accepted scores. Senior Tyler Springer and sophomore Shawn Martz — a pair that shared tournament medalist honors on Tuesday — struggled to a 102 and 98, respectively.
“I think the fact that we go from having our two lowest scorers in one match and then not having to count their scores the next shows our collective depth,” Furman said. “Not many teams can have an occurrence like that and still shoot its lowest scores (of the last four years on the road) in succession.”
The Leafs’ 337 was good for a third-place finish out of three teams, as host Grace (318) took home the team title while Taylor University (324) captured second-place honors.
Taylor’s Ryan Johnson took individual medalist honors, firing a spectacular 34-34 — 68.
“I have to give a special mention of Taylor’s Ryan Johnson,” Furman said. “He’s a really nice kid who was absolutely on fire today. The pin placement here today was generally tough. Ryan’s previous low was 70, and to break that barrier here today was very impressive.”
Furman’s squad now prepares for its final event of the fall season, as the team will compete in the MCC Championships on both Monday and Tuesday at Noble Hawks Golf Links. The league championships will constitute Goshen’s second trip to Noble Hawk this season, as the team participated in the University of St. Francis Invitational on Sept. 17-18, firing a 369 at Noble Hawk (click here for article).
“We certainly feel we can make big improvements to that number,” Furman said. “The MCC Championships are a tough deal, as we’ll play 36 straight holes Monday and then come back for 18 more on Tuesday. For our first-year guys, Monday will be an all-out chore. If we can fight through some fatigue, I think we’ll be able to post some respectable scores.”
The MCC Championships will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning. Tuesday’s tee times will be dependent on the nine MCC squads’ first-day scores.
Goshen Results
Grace College Invitational
Rozella Ford Golf Course
GOSHEN COLLEGE – (337) TenHarmsel, 46/38, 84; Penner, 44/41, 85; Unrein, 41/44, 85; Hallman, 51/49, 100; Martz, 51/47, 98; Springer, 51/51, 102; Roth, 40/43, 83
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Unattached Senior Chad Unrein