Loxley, AL—The 2023-2024 Fall season for the Rutgers men's golf concluded on Sunday with a seventh-place finish at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, hosted by South Alabama.
The Scarlet Knights finished 11-over-par for a total of 875 (302-289-284). Despite a slow start in the first round, RU rebounded and secured another top-10 placement, wrapping up the fall season with consistent top-10 finishes in every tournament.
"I think once we got through that first round, we got more comfortable and got into a good pace," senior
Rhett Sellers said. "That helped us have a little bit more success in the second and third round."
Rutgers's best round of the day came on the final round as the team would finish four-under 284. Each team member played a crucial role in the third round, contributing to RU having the second-best score of the day.
Xavier Marcoux added six key birdies and
Martín León made an eagle on the ninth hole to help the team climb the score charts on Sunday.
Xavier Marcoux led the Scarlet Knights, finishing tied for eighth place. He carded a two-under 214 (72-74-68) and earned his best finish of the season. The graduate student was consistent all weekend, finishing with 11 birdies throughout the weekend. Marcoux's best performance was in the final round as he shot four-under 68 including making six birdies on the last 18 holes.
Sellers secured a tie for tenth place with a one-over-par finish of 215 (73-69-73). Playing in the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational for the first time in two years with a redesigned course, Sellers knew that he would need to make some changes to his game and used the previous week off to retool his game.
"Coach (Rob Shuute) has been a great help we've been really working on my putting the last couple of weeks and working on start lines," Sellers said. "Just making sure we are getting the ball started on the line on impact when I work with Coach has been a great help. I think that paid off this weekend."
Sellers showcased his consistency, earning a top-ten spot for the second-consecutive tournament and his 17 birdies were a tournament-best.
"For my second round I only had one par in the first ten holes, so it was a roller coaster," Sellers said. "But this was one of those tournaments I wasn't really aware of my score. I was just playing."
Luke Wells finished the tournament in a tie for 45th-place with a score of 225 (77-72-76). Wells would sink two huge eagles on hole ten and hole 16 in the first round of the event.
Martín León placed himself in a tie for 51st place with a total score of 226 (80-74-72). León would card two eagles and nine birdies over the two-day event.
Weston Jones finished in a tie for 71st place with a total score of 235 (83-81-71). In his final event of the fall season, Jones secured six birdies.
Rutgers led the tournament in team total eagles with five and secured third place overall with a total of 49 birdies.
The University of Alabama was crowned the tournament champion finishing eleven-under. Virginia Tech's Kobe Valociek would be crowned individual champion as he finished eleven-under 205.
Regarding his overall assessment of the fall season, Sellers considers it to have been a successful one.
"I think it was a good fall for me," Sellers said. "I finished top-15 in the first event and then to close it out with two top-10 finishes I feel like I have been playing some pretty good golf."
After successfully placing themselves inside the top-10 in every tournament, the Scarlet Knights wrap up the fall season in good spirits and with high expectations for the spring.
"I think we are in a good spot to really attack the spring and get back into contention for the postseason and to make a regional tournament. Everyone knows what they need to work on this off-season and practice hard," describes Sellers. "I think we all are already looking forward to getting back and getting started back up."
RU will take a break for the winter before returning to action on February 11-13 for the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate Invitational hosted by UNCG.
