Tops Proud of Resiliency Heading into Louisville Tournament

Coach Metts Video Interview | McDaniel Interview

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — After a disappointing second round last weekend at the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, the WKU Hilltopper Golf team faced brutal conditions in Sunday's final round.

That didn't slow down the Hilltoppers, who shot an 11-under 277 in the final round for their best single team round in more than 10 years.

It was that conclusion to the opening event under first-year coach Chan Metts that has WKU optimistic heading into this weekend's Louisville Cardinals Challenge.

"We fought back," redshirt freshman Dawson McDaniel said. "That second round, we were kind of falling apart. But we fought back and did what we were supposed to do, and I think that shows us what we can do. When we put three rounds together just like that, we're going to win some tournaments."

WKU faces a talented 16-team field this week in Louisville, including six teams ranked in the top 50 of last season's final Golfstat rankings.

Teams will play 18 holes each day Friday through Sunday at the par-72, 7,101-yard University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky.

The Hilltoppers will use their same lineup as last week, featuring McDaniel, redshirt senior Billy Tom Sargent, redshirt junior Linus Lo, junior Tom Bevington and freshman Dominic Brettkelly. Sophomore Chase Landrum will join the team as an individual.

McDaniel paced WKU individually at the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, tying for 12th with a 3-under total of 213 in his first college event.

The Bowling Green native redshirted his first season on The Hill in 2017-18, which was a tough pill for him to swallow at first until he began to develop.

"I didn't really want to at the time, but now looking back, I'm more than happy that I actually got to," McDaniel said. "I grew more mentally, physically and spiritually, and now the results are showing with how much work I put into it and how much people helped me along the way."

McDaniel was one of three Hilltoppers, along with Sargent and Lo, to finish in the top 25 last week at Indiana.

WKU caught fire in the final round with four scores of 70 or better. The team's 277 tally was the second-best score of the entire tournament and the best for a Hilltopper squad since also shooting a 277 at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in the spring of 2008.

"It was really nice to be able to get out there and create a starting point for this team," Metts said. "Every team, year to year, even if you don't lose any players, it's going to be different. I think now we kind of have that starting point. Looking back, you wish the first and second rounds could've been a little better, but I think some of the positives we're going to take away is that we played our best golf in the worst conditions.

"That last round was unbelievable, being able to put everybody put it together at the same time. I think that shows us what we're going to be capable of going forward, but we can't hang our hat on that result."

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bevington

Dominic Brettkelly

Chase Landrum

Linus Lo

Dawson McDaniel

Billy Tom Sargent