Kaley Patterson
A&E Editor
@KaleyKayPatt
Down pouring rain and high winds delayed the two-day tournament hosted by the Cameron Men’s Golf team on Oct. 13-14 at The Territory Golf and Country Club in Duncan.
The Territory Classic was scheduled to begin on Oct. 13 with 18 holes, but harsh weather conditions caused Cameron Men’s Golf Coach Jerry Hrnciar to call off play. The tournament commenced the next day with a shotgun start, and competitors played 36 holes in slightly better conditions.
The Black and Gold presented two teams at the tournament. After the first round, Cameron shot 300 and followed up with a 296 in the second round, leaving the Aggies in fourth place overall with a total of 596. The Cameron “B” team shot 307 for both rounds, giving them a 614 for eighth place.
Midwestern State University came out on top with a total score of 580. St. Mary’s University in Texas (583) and West Texas A&M (585) followed, respectively.
“Midwestern State played really well,” Hrnciar said in a press release. “Our scores on the other hand weren’t as good as they should have been, seeing how it was a home course for us. I wasn’t on the course as much as I wanted to, since we were hosting, and I don’t think our players were as focused as they should have been.”
Dylan McClure led the Black and Gold with a pair of 73s that equaled a 146 to seal eighth place individually. Corey Bounds placed 17th with a two-round score of 150 by shooting a 76 in round one and shaving two strokes in the second. Taking 18th place was Zander Winston with a 151 (76+75). Cullen Stahl finished the tournament in 25th with a 153 (75+78). Fifth man K.C. Colvin shot an 84 in round one and shaved 10 strokes in round two to give him a total score of 158 and 36th place.
Bradley Ferrell led the Cameron “B” team by taking 15th place with a 149 (73+76). Zeb Littlefield took 23rd with a 152 by shooting a 75 in the first round and adding two strokes in the second. Quinton Tews had a first round score of 79 and shaved three strokes in the second to give him a total of 155 for 30th. Justin Lang finished with a 158 (80+78), and Ryan Mahaffey ended the tournament with a 178 (84+94).
McClure believes the team did not play their best at the home course, but there were some contributing factors.
“I think that was the first time we golfed in the cold in quite awhile,” McClure said. “The course was playing pretty tough. A couple of teams came out really strong, which we weren’t quite expecting.”
The Territory Classic was the only tournament the Cameron Men’s Golf team will host this season. McClure said although the advantages of hosting include the team’s knowledge of the course and more support in the gallery, the Black and Gold did not receive visits from their coach as much as they usually do.
“He [Hrnciar] was so preoccupied with everything else going on – making sure all the other teams and coaches are doing alright,” McClure said. “I think I saw Coach maybe twice the whole tournament. Other tournaments he’s with you, you see him five or six times a round – he’s always there.”
McClure said his team did not do as well as they had anticipated, and there are some things they need to improve before their next round.
“I think we need to figure out our opportunities,” McClure said, “like when we should go for certain holes and when we shouldn’t. I think some of us start rounds and try to go for everything when we need to stay laid back, keep control, make our pars and then go for pins later in the round … Other than that, we’ve got the talent. I think everybody knows that; we just need to start using it.”