There may not be a substitute for experience, but the Wisconsin men’s golf team hopes there is something close as the Badgers head into the Big Ten Tournament this weekend.
Losing four seniors from the previous season, the Badgers have three freshmen playing prominent roles for the team. This is a large task for such young players, especially when you consider the transition from high school to college. Not only do they have to lead their team in one of the nation’s toughest conferences, but they must also balance everything else that comes along with being a student-athlete at a university like UW-Madison.
“They do a great job of managing their time between their academics, tournaments, practice, social life and everything else,” head coach Jim Schuman said. “I couldn’t be happier with them.”
While experience may be limited for freshman Michael Sorenson, his success is undeniable.
As a senior in high school, Sorenson won the 2009 WIAA State Division I Championship and a few months later won the 2009 WSGA State Junior Championship. This kind of success is something he has come to expect.
Even after last weekend’s 11th place finish in the Boilermaker Invitational, Sorenson still sees room for improvement.
“I don’t feel like I have played to my potential in any tournaments this year,” Sorenson said. “But my game is starting to come around, so I hope to play well this weekend.”
It’s something that Sorenson and the rest of the Badgers will have to do if they hope to keep playing. With a first place finish in the Big Ten Championship Tournament, UW has a chance to advance to the NCAA tournament.
With so many freshmen, one would think that this could put added pressure on the team. This isn’t something that has coach Schuman too worried.
“We don’t go into many tournaments with a mindset other than to win the event,” Schuman said. “That’s the ultimate goal, so that is really nothing new.”
However, Schuman does admit that his team, in particular the freshmen, will be facing a challenge they haven’t seen before.
“I’m sure they will be quite nervous,” Schuman said. “But it should be a great experience for them.”
With so many players on the team experiencing things for the first time, it has made it all the more important for UW’s lone senior, Jordan Elsen, to be a leader.
“Jordan’s been a real nice stabilizer for our younger players,” Schuman said. “I am very proud of him.”
For Elsen, being a leader is not a responsibility he has been asked to take on before this season. In his previous years, Elsen was considered more inexperienced compared to his teammates. Even in his junior year, he was the only non-senior to play in more than 20 rounds.
Becoming the leader he is today was certainly no easy feat.
In golf, just like in life, there are turning points that help a player mature. For Elsen, that moment came in the NCAA regionals his sophomore year.
“I struggled in the first round and I had to quickly learn how to put the slow start behind me,” Elsen said.
Additionally, Elsen attributes much of his success to his past teammates, who like Elsen now, led their respective teams.
“Over the course of my four years here at UW, I have been given the privilege to play with some solid players who have taught me a lot,” Elsen said. “The biggest thing I have learned from them is that the game of golf is not about having a perfect swing or hitting the ball perfect every time. It’s about finding a way to get the ball in the hole, even when you’re not playing at your best.”
Though having played in the Big Ten Tournament in previous years, Elsen has never played at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Minnesota, the host of the Big Ten Tournament. One thing that may be to Elsen’s advantage is the fact that the course plays very similar to Crooked Stick, where Elsen finished third.
“It’s a links-style golf course, which I tend to play really well on,” Elsen said. “The greens are so true, which is an advantage for me since I feel confident in the way I am putting right now.”
