Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)
2019 Men’s Golf Spring Preview
Feb 06 | Men's Golf
Scarlet Knights look to improve play from fall campaign
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – With two top-five team finishes and four individual top-10 performances last fall, there was plenty for Rutgers men's golf head coach Rob Shutte to be pleased with. However, Shutte is most optimistic about the fact he believes there is room for his team to do even better heading into the spring.
"We never played our best golf at a number of tournaments and we were still able to have a shot," Shutte said. "You know we're going to have to play really well in the spring, but you still have a shot at regional play if we can win a few tournaments. Knowing that we still didn't put together our best combination of golf all at one time, that in conjunction with a good offseason makes you think you can be pretty optimistic about our ability to be competitive and compete to win some of these tournaments."
After the fall season, the Scarlet Knights continued to work on their game. That included a training trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, last month, where six players from this year's squad had an opportunity with play with former RU players Matthew Holuta and Toks Pedro as well as other program alumni. The five-day trip included 18 holes at venues such as Banyan Cay Golf Club, Jupiter Hills, McArthur Golf Club and The Country Club at Mirasol.
"We have never done something like that," Shutte said of the trip. "To go before school, midweek, and finish up on the weekend and have that many days in a row versus just kind of on a weekend during school was different, but I thought overall the play was really solid and it allowed us to build on the previous day's success."
Shutte is hoping the trip translates into a successful spring campaign, which begins with this weekend's Big Ten Match Play Championships at the Conservatory and Ocean courses at the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. The Scarlet Knights open with No. 4 Ohio State on the Ocean Course on Friday morning as the No. 13 seed.
RU enters the spring season with four players – junior Tony Jiang, sophomores Christopher Gotterup and Oliver Whatley and rookie Shayler Dance – who appeared in all five events last fall. Jiang had arguably the most consistent fall out of the group, as the Sarasota Christian product carded three top-10 finishes last semester. That included a tied-for-fifth result at the Badger Invitational back in September, where Jiang carded an impressive five-under-par 67.
Jiang closed out the fall with a 72.01 adjusted scoring average, the 224th-best average in the country according to GolfStat. Shutte believes there are even more good scores to come for Jiang, who will make his third career appearance at the Big Ten Match Play Championships.
"Tony's healthy which a big thing for him and us as a program," Shutte said. "We had periods where Tony has not been healthy. Right now he's healthy, his putting is much improved so his awareness of how to play the game continues to get better. You're still not getting the best out of Tony and he's certainly had a really good fall. There's more to see from Tony in the coming seasons."
Gotterup also had a nice fall, highlighted by his tied-for-sixth result at the Mountaineer Invitational back in October. Six of Gotterup's 15 rounds came in at or under par, including a three-under-par 67 at the OTC Collegiate. But if history holds true, fans should expect a huge spring from the sophomore.
Last spring as a rookie, Gotterup carded a 73.88 18-hole average in 18 rounds. He also shined at the Big Ten Championships in Baltimore, where he produced the highest individual finish in program history with his tied-for-18th place. At the conference tournament, Gotterup produced a two-under-par 68, a one-under-par 69 and was as high as third on the leaderboard.
"Last year, he struggled over the winter and then started to find some momentum at match play," Shutte said. "All of a sudden he started having a really good spring where he almost won the Big Ten championship and that really propelled him into the summer.
"He's starting to fill out like a Brooks Koepka or some of these really strong player on tour that are just built with explosive power. You know it's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when he is able to have a stretch like he had really in the summer and the end of spring where he just goes out and just dominates these fields because he's capable of it."
Shutte's other two mainstays in the lineup are Dance and Whatley. Whatley tied for 12th at the OTC Collegiate with a four-under-par 206 and had five 18-hole rounds of under-par golf. As a rookie, Dance shot a four-under-par 68 at the Chatham Hills Intercollegiate in Westfield, Indiana, which included two eagles in the first round.
"With Shayler, you know he's already been settling in," Shutte said. "He played every tournament, so sometimes you start to treat him like he's older than he is because he's playing in these tournaments.
"Oliver's got a bunch of new equipment in the bag so I think that's really going to help improve his driving which is what held him back a little in the fall, was some poor driving rounds. So I think with a new driver in the bag, that's going to really help him because we know he can really play."
The key for Rutgers is to find consistency in the fifth spot in the lineup. Sophomore Bobby Weise competed in the line in three tournaments last fall after his transfer from Rhode Island. Classmate Putt Sridama made two starts and three appearances overall, while senior Matthew Mourin, junior Adam Gray and rookie Jack Doherty also competed as starters in the fall.
Whoever solidifies themselves as the No. 5 starter will help the Scarlet Knights as they navigate through a challenging seven-event schedule. After match play, RU returns to the Colleton River Collegiate March 4-5 before it heads west for tournaments in Phoenix (March 9-10) and University Place, Washington (April 1-2). Rutgers closes out the spring with two familiar tournaments – the Rutherford (April 13-14) and Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (April 20-21) – before the Big Ten Championships at the end of April.
"It's a really good schedule from the standpoint that match play is the same but then we have a little break before we have back-to-back events," Shutte said. "There are some familiar tournaments but also ones that are new to us that will provide us with the challenges needed to succeed late in the spring semester. Being able to get out to the west coast at Chambers Bay will be a really great experience for the guys as well. I think the schedule sets up well. The fields are competitive which will allow us to make moves once regional qualifying begins to take shape."
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's golf, follow the program on Twitter (@RUMensGolf) and on Instagram (rutgersmensgolf). For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.
"We never played our best golf at a number of tournaments and we were still able to have a shot," Shutte said. "You know we're going to have to play really well in the spring, but you still have a shot at regional play if we can win a few tournaments. Knowing that we still didn't put together our best combination of golf all at one time, that in conjunction with a good offseason makes you think you can be pretty optimistic about our ability to be competitive and compete to win some of these tournaments."
After the fall season, the Scarlet Knights continued to work on their game. That included a training trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, last month, where six players from this year's squad had an opportunity with play with former RU players Matthew Holuta and Toks Pedro as well as other program alumni. The five-day trip included 18 holes at venues such as Banyan Cay Golf Club, Jupiter Hills, McArthur Golf Club and The Country Club at Mirasol.
Mirasol on day 5 was a real treat to finish the trip. A number of alums joining us made the day even sweeter. pic.twitter.com/rLs6ezL9RV
— RU Mens Golf (@RUMensGolf) January 20, 2019
"We have never done something like that," Shutte said of the trip. "To go before school, midweek, and finish up on the weekend and have that many days in a row versus just kind of on a weekend during school was different, but I thought overall the play was really solid and it allowed us to build on the previous day's success."
Shutte is hoping the trip translates into a successful spring campaign, which begins with this weekend's Big Ten Match Play Championships at the Conservatory and Ocean courses at the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. The Scarlet Knights open with No. 4 Ohio State on the Ocean Course on Friday morning as the No. 13 seed.
RU enters the spring season with four players – junior Tony Jiang, sophomores Christopher Gotterup and Oliver Whatley and rookie Shayler Dance – who appeared in all five events last fall. Jiang had arguably the most consistent fall out of the group, as the Sarasota Christian product carded three top-10 finishes last semester. That included a tied-for-fifth result at the Badger Invitational back in September, where Jiang carded an impressive five-under-par 67.
Jiang closed out the fall with a 72.01 adjusted scoring average, the 224th-best average in the country according to GolfStat. Shutte believes there are even more good scores to come for Jiang, who will make his third career appearance at the Big Ten Match Play Championships.
"Tony's healthy which a big thing for him and us as a program," Shutte said. "We had periods where Tony has not been healthy. Right now he's healthy, his putting is much improved so his awareness of how to play the game continues to get better. You're still not getting the best out of Tony and he's certainly had a really good fall. There's more to see from Tony in the coming seasons."
Gotterup also had a nice fall, highlighted by his tied-for-sixth result at the Mountaineer Invitational back in October. Six of Gotterup's 15 rounds came in at or under par, including a three-under-par 67 at the OTC Collegiate. But if history holds true, fans should expect a huge spring from the sophomore.
Last spring as a rookie, Gotterup carded a 73.88 18-hole average in 18 rounds. He also shined at the Big Ten Championships in Baltimore, where he produced the highest individual finish in program history with his tied-for-18th place. At the conference tournament, Gotterup produced a two-under-par 68, a one-under-par 69 and was as high as third on the leaderboard.
"Last year, he struggled over the winter and then started to find some momentum at match play," Shutte said. "All of a sudden he started having a really good spring where he almost won the Big Ten championship and that really propelled him into the summer.
"He's starting to fill out like a Brooks Koepka or some of these really strong player on tour that are just built with explosive power. You know it's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when he is able to have a stretch like he had really in the summer and the end of spring where he just goes out and just dominates these fields because he's capable of it."
Shutte's other two mainstays in the lineup are Dance and Whatley. Whatley tied for 12th at the OTC Collegiate with a four-under-par 206 and had five 18-hole rounds of under-par golf. As a rookie, Dance shot a four-under-par 68 at the Chatham Hills Intercollegiate in Westfield, Indiana, which included two eagles in the first round.
"With Shayler, you know he's already been settling in," Shutte said. "He played every tournament, so sometimes you start to treat him like he's older than he is because he's playing in these tournaments.
"Oliver's got a bunch of new equipment in the bag so I think that's really going to help improve his driving which is what held him back a little in the fall, was some poor driving rounds. So I think with a new driver in the bag, that's going to really help him because we know he can really play."
The key for Rutgers is to find consistency in the fifth spot in the lineup. Sophomore Bobby Weise competed in the line in three tournaments last fall after his transfer from Rhode Island. Classmate Putt Sridama made two starts and three appearances overall, while senior Matthew Mourin, junior Adam Gray and rookie Jack Doherty also competed as starters in the fall.
Whoever solidifies themselves as the No. 5 starter will help the Scarlet Knights as they navigate through a challenging seven-event schedule. After match play, RU returns to the Colleton River Collegiate March 4-5 before it heads west for tournaments in Phoenix (March 9-10) and University Place, Washington (April 1-2). Rutgers closes out the spring with two familiar tournaments – the Rutherford (April 13-14) and Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (April 20-21) – before the Big Ten Championships at the end of April.
"It's a really good schedule from the standpoint that match play is the same but then we have a little break before we have back-to-back events," Shutte said. "There are some familiar tournaments but also ones that are new to us that will provide us with the challenges needed to succeed late in the spring semester. Being able to get out to the west coast at Chambers Bay will be a really great experience for the guys as well. I think the schedule sets up well. The fields are competitive which will allow us to make moves once regional qualifying begins to take shape."
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's golf, follow the program on Twitter (@RUMensGolf) and on Instagram (rutgersmensgolf). For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.
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