By Andrew Preston
The Trevecca men’s golf team enters next week’s G-MAC championship aiming to defend their five-year run as the conference’s best team.
“Obviously it’s a goal of ours to try and continue the streak and get six and it’s something as team we’ve talked about all season long, but we have to play our game to win,” director of golf, David Head said.
The Trojans have claimed every conference championship since the inception of the G-MAC in 2013, but Head says there is no guarantee the Trojans pull off the same feat this year.
“All the other teams look at us as the team to beat,” Head said. “I can promise you those other teams will be coming after us, but we feel like we’re ready to go out and earn that sixth championship.”
The Trojans enter the field as favorites largely due to the work of freshman Blain Turner and junior Larken Whittemore, who hold the two best scoring averages entering the two-day tournament.
“I feel like I’m really prepared for it,” Turner said. “We’ve practice a lot as a team and we’re looking to playing three good rounds of golf and winning it.”
Whittemore agreed.
“We definitely feel ready and think we have the best team Trevecca has ever had,” Whittemore said. “We’re looking forward to it and in the end, I expect it to be a battle between Blain and I.”
With the G-MAC expansion, the Trojans now face five more schools increasing the difficulty of the field.
“Findlay, Hillsdale and Malone,” Head said. “All three of those schools are stiff challenges and we’re going to have to go out and play the way we’re capable of to beat them.”
Trevecca’s average team score of 296.5 is almost two full strokes better than Malone’s 298.7, but Turner still feels the pressure.
“I think it adds a little pressure,” Turner said of the field. “We all really want to win six to continue the tradition and I want to be able to contribute to it.”
The G-MAC Championships take place at the Four Bridges Country Club in Mason, Ohio.
“It’s not like you can play defense in golf,” Head said. “We can’t prevent other teams from doing their thing, but we’re going up there expecting to win. In golf you have to control what you do and not worry about what anyone else is doing.”
