North Texas Daily

The North Texas men’s golf team finished their 2018 fall schedule this week after placing No. 13 at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational at Isleworth Golf Club in Windermere, Florida.

The Mean Green sat in last place after two disappointing rounds at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational, college golf’s “major championship.” During the final round, the Mean Green were able to shoot an even-par score of 288 during the final round.

Despite the disappointing finish to the fall season, North Texas made solid appearances in their first three fall tournaments, which have moved their team ranking to No. 48 in the country.

“I think the team is trending in the right direction,” head coach BradStracke said. “I think the guys are getting more confident. We’re moving up in the rankings – which is good – and we’ve competed against some really tough competition as well.”

Perhaps the most notable moment of the fall season was Thomas Rosenmueller’s comeback victory at the Trinity Forest Invitational, home to the PGA Tour’s AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.

Senior Thomas Rosenmueller, of Munich, Germany, practices at the driving range at Maridoe Golf Club. Rosenmueller tied for 11th place at the first Maridoe Tournament Oct. 2. Jordan Collard

This was the first individual championship the men’s program had won since 2015 when Rosenmueller won the Quail Valley Collegiate Championship as a freshman. He said winning the tournament didn’t surprise him because he has been playing well but just couldn’t ever seem to grab the win.

“It’s been a long time, and I’ve been waiting on a win for a while,” Rosenmueller said. “I had good chances in the past couple years and got really close, but I couldn’t finish it. This tournament I got to come from behind, which is a lot easier than having the lead and trying to hold other people off.”

Another highlight of the fall season was the inaugural Mariode Invitational held at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas. This is the golf course North Texas has practiced on since August 2017 and the first time North Texas hosted a golf tournament in program history.

The Maridoe Intercollegiate brought teams from all over the country, such as Coastal Carolina, Indiana, No. 24 Tennessee, No. 6 Southern Methodist and No. 9 Texas A&M.

After Round 1, the Mean Green were leading the tournament by a score of +9. A bad second day dropped them a spot and by the end of Round 3 North Texas finished in third place behind Southern Methodist and Texas A&M, respectively.

Rosenmueller was also in the lead after Round 1 but, like his team, stumbled in the second round. Rosenmueller ended up in a tie for 11th with teammate Jordan Sanders.

Freshman Lenny Bergsson, of Gerdabaer, Iceland, picks up a golf ball while practicing putts at practice on Thursday. Jordan Collard

Sanders said he feels as if his team gained confidence after taking Southern Methodist and Texas A&M down to the wire in the Maridoe Intercollegiate.

“Texas A&M and [Southern Methodist] are two great programs,” Sanders said. “Our ranking doesn’t show it, but we’re good enough to hang with the top 10 teams in the country.”

Sanders also said Maridoe is one of the toughest golf courses he has ever played. The tough course doesn’t go anywhere, but he said it never plays the same way two days in a row.

“You’re never going to see the same golf course twice,” Sanders said. “We’ve played this course so many times and either the wind, pins or speed of the greens can change on any given day.”

When Rosenmueller was asked the best way to navigate around Maridoe, his answer was simple:

“Greens and fairways,” Rosenmueller said.

Stracke said both Rosenmueller and Sanders have shown leadership on the golf team, and that leadership in present golf is different than any other sport.

“It’s more [about] work ethic and how you produce on the golf course,” Stracke said. “That’s what golf is all about. Golf is different than other sports because you can’t watch people play or pick them up when they’re not playing well. You are kind of your own individual guy, so putting up good numbers is how you lead in golf.”

Maridoe Golf Club hasn’t been home to the Mean Green for long, but Stracke said the golf course itself has already drawn in better recruits and affected how his team performed.

“Maridoe has impacted us with recruiting and how we play,” Stracke said. “This course is so demanding, you need to be very detailed in what you do and very focused every time you play out here. It has helped us out tremendously.”

Featured Image: French Freshman Henri Renouard practices chipping out of a sand trap at Maridoe Golf Club Thursday. Jordan Collard