Tyler Boydston
Sports Editor
The men’s golf team recently placed fourth in the Territory Classic that took place Sept. 24 and 25 in Duncan.
The event, which has been held for six years, was the team’s second tournament of the fall season.
According to men’s golf coach Jerry Hrnciar, the Territory Classic served as a way to play his entire team, unlike other, more restrictive tournaments they play during the season.
“We get to play everybody, so I get a chance to look at the competition and see who has their game together and who does not,” Hrnciar said. “That would probably be the biggest point of preparation for the year. In all the other tournaments, I can usually play only five players.”
The men’s golf team had their Varsity and JV teams made up of five players on the course and four individual players, which Hrnciar explained was three more individuals than the other schools that played in the tournament.
“They play for individual honors, but not for any team,” Hrnciar said. “Most of the teams brought one extra player, while Cameron brought four.”
At the end of the tournament’s first day, the Varsity team was in seventh place with a score of 305, while the JV team scored tenth with 309.
According to Hrnciar, the weather conditions on the second day of the competition affected the competition as wind gusts reached the course.
“The wind was a major factor,” Hrnciar said. “It was difficult on everybody, and with pin placements being as difficult as they were in that wind, if someone was off just a little bit and got impatient, it could really make a difference in the final score.”
The teams improved their score the second day, with the Varsity team reaching fourth place with a score of 606 overall and the JV team placing ninth with a score of 622.
“We played with more determination on the second day,” Hrnciar said. “We fought for every shot. On the first day, I felt that a lot of the players had high expectations and when they weren’t meeting them it was discouraging.”
Hrnciar said the Territory Classic has been held at the Territory course in Duncan for the past six years barring the 2011 fall season, when it was held at Dornick Hills in Ardmore, a result of weather conditions in Duncan at the time.
“Last year we held it on Dornick Hills in Ardmore because of the drought and the conditions that affected the Territory,” Hrnciar said. “We played 36-18 at Dornick while we played 18-18 at the Territory this year.”
According to Hrnciar, the JV and Varsity men’s golf teams came to the Territory Classic more prepared than their first tournament of the season due to the regulations set in place by the NCAA. Due to the regulations, the team has had three practices between the Coody-West Texas Intercollegiate on Sept. 11 and the Territory Classic that began 13 days later.
“I think we have more talent than what we showed in the first tournament. The NCAA rules we are under let us only have one day of team practice before the first tournament,” Hrnciar said. “It is kind of hard to expect a lot during the first tournament of the semester. We got to play three times between then and this tournament, though the players have to come in from the summer prepared and ready to play. They have to play during the summer.”
The men’s golf team will play again at the Ryan Palmer Invitational Oct. 8 and 9 in Amarillo, Texas.