Hilltoppers Travel to Indiana for First Tourney Under Metts

Metts Video Interview | Sargent Video Interview

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The WKU Hilltopper Golf program will play with heavy hearts this season as it begins a new era with its first tournament of the season.

The Hilltoppers open the season under first-year head coach Chan Metts this weekend at Indiana's Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational in Henryville, Ind.

Metts takes over for former head coach Phillip Hatchett, who passed away in June. Hatchett had led the program since 2010.

"It's been a good transition over the first couple of weeks," said Metts, who was hired as WKU's new head coach in August. "Coach Hatchett left some big shoes to fill, and at this point, I'm just trying to do my best to make sure I'm carrying on his legacy in the right way. He's got a great bunch of kids that I'm able to coach here and a lot of high-character guys, and I want to make sure I carry on that tradition."

WKU will be one of 13 teams competing Saturday and Sunday at the par-72, 7,174-yard Champions Pointe Golf Club. Teams will play 36 holes Saturday with an 8 a.m. CT shotgun start, with the final 18 holes played Sunday with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m.

Because of the quick turnaround from the start of school and the transition for Metts, the Hilltoppers were only able to squeeze in three qualifying rounds before heading to Indiana.

Because of that, Metts said the tournament will be a valuable chance for him to evaluate and learn more about his players and their make-up on the course.

"Typically, I'd like to shoot for somewhere around six (qualifying rounds), so it's been a quick learning curve for me to try and see what we're kind of working with," Metts said. "The biggest thing I want to get out of this first tournament is watching the guys compete and trying to learn as much about each individual's game as I can. I want to figure out what makes each player tick, and that gives me an idea of how I can best help each player."

Representing WKU this weekend will be redshirt senior Billy Tom Sargent, redshirt junior Linus Lo, junior Tom Bevington, redshirt freshman Dawson McDaniel and freshman Dominic Brettkelly.

Sargent is coming off a junior campaign in which he became the second Hilltopper to ever compete in a NCAA Regional as an individual, and the first since 2008.

McDaniel and Brettkelly will be participating in their first college tournaments.

All of the WKU players will compete this year with a "P4C" patch on their golf bags. It stands for "Play 4 Coach," a constant reminder of their drive to make their late Coach Hatchett proud.

"Qualifying was really competitive, which was good to see," Sargent said. "You don't want guys getting in real easy. You want it to be as competitive as possible. We're always thinking about Coach (Hatchett) and playing for him, so hopefully this fall and spring we can play well."

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bevington

Dominic Brettkelly

Linus Lo

Dawson McDaniel

Billy Tom Sargent