The Back Nine: WKU Golf Spring Preview

Bowling Green, Ky.-- Spring has finally sprung for WKU men's golf. The team is coming off of their victory at the Xavier Invitational to close the fall. First-year head coach Austin King shared his thoughts on the upcoming spring campaign, and how they can build on the foundational fall season.

Although it's the start of a new era, the Tops showed they can compete. Coach King wanted to emphasize that they are a talented team and that they can expect to play well going into each tournament. "One big thing is that they're a good team and can expect to play well." King continued, "We also want everyone to address their individual needs of what's working and what needs to continue to get better and have good practical plans for that."

Spring of 2016. That was the last time the Tops won a tournament. The Xavier Invitational was such an impressive showing for the team that four competitors finished within the Top 10. This run was headlined by senior Connery Meyer, who finished the tournament tied for second.

Tops tasted victory. Coming off of a win at Xavier, the program is looking to build on that and repeat what led to their late season success. Coach King pointed out that he wants players to show a commitment on the process of getting to victory. "Xavier was an incredible experience for everyone," said King.

Coach continued, "I believe what's important now is everyone having a good understanding of what led to that, which to me was good game planning and everyone committing to their own processes and games, and then everyone continuing to improve individually based on that."

New faces made an impact during the season. During the fall season, there were a few players that made appearances for the Tops such as senior Aaron Pha and freshman Gage Doyle. King mentioned Doyle as a prospect that can continue to make an impact for the team moving forward.

"I'm really excited to see Gage Doyle compete more. He got a little taste of it at the end of the fall, and his competitiveness along with continued improvement has really impressed me in his short time here so far," said King.

Long breaks are imminent in the golf season. The squad had to find ways to stick together outside of just workouts. The team took advantage of the break, taking a trip down to Charelston, South Carolina the weekend before spring classes started.

The team got to play a bit on some great courses and enjoy the South Carolina weather to start the semester. This proved to be vital to continuing to build-up team chemistry and gave the team great momentum going into the start of spring.

Coach King gets to enjoy a familiar course during this next stretch. With a new season, comes new venues. Coach King is particularly excited about competing at the Club Irish Creek course and Texarkana Country Club. These locations are the sites of the Irish Creek Invitational and the CUSA Conference championships, respectively.

"Irish Creek was a home course for me in my time at Charlotte that will be a lot of fun for our guys to compete on, and having a lot of memories at Texarkana as a player and coach at the conference championship will be a good test that I believe takes a lot of discipline and strategy to be successful on, something this team has really come a long way on already in", Coach King explained.

The team wants to continue taking steps in the right direction and build momentum. Coach King used one word to describe the team; Trending. King expanded on this saying, "We still have plenty of room to get better in all aspects, but I feel like everyone is understanding how to get better individually and the daily things we need to be committed to and stay on top of as the spring continues."

"Winning is fun and winning is also hard." There is a lot of preparation and commitment to the process that comes with achieving victory. King and graduate assistant coach James Boone will be sure to continue to preach about trusting the process and the dedication to the game plan that they implement for every tournament.

Spring of 2022 is the last time the Tops have competed at Rice. WKU last competed at Rice when the tournament was still named the Bayou City Collegiate Classic. The Tops finished that tournament in 12th place. King's squad is set to compete in the tournament from February 12-13, playing against the likes of Missouri State, UTSA, University of Houston, and fellow CUSA member Sam Houston.

Players Mentioned

Gage Doyle

Connery Meyer

Aaron Pha

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