University of Wisconsin men’s golf placed seventh out of 12 teams in the Colleton River Collegiate in Bluffton, South Carolina this Monday and Tuesday.
Coach Michael Burcin brought a young group of mostly freshman and sophomores to South Carolina. Jordan Hahn (20th), Griffin Barela (31st), Sam Anderson (42nd), Pete Kuhl (47th) and Nick Robinson (49th) all competed for the Badgers in the event with Wisconsin’s Eddie Wajda (42nd) also golfing as an independent.
Jordan Hahn, the Badgers’ highest ranked player, was 11 over par over the three-round contest. Hahn’s most impressive round came last shooting 70 for two under par, which was tied for the fourth best score among all players in any round.
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While the Badgers under performed overall, they did improve throughout the competition. In the first round, Wisconsin finished tied for last with an overall score of 313, which decreased to 308 in round two and 298 in the final round.
UW Athletics caught up with Burcin to get his thoughts on the team’s performance.
“It was good to see some of our guys help us move up in the final round. Jordan and Griffin really looked solid today, but overall it was a disappointing week coming off our last performance. We need to figure out these issues quickly and come back stronger later this month,” Burcin said.
The performance is more underwhelming because it comes off the heels of some impressive early outings. Back in February, the team finished third overall in the Big Ten Match play, leaving many wondering how good some of these players can become as they develop and improve their games.
Wisconsin will visit South Carolina again for their next contest in two weeks. The Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate will go from March 25-27 in the Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, South Carolina.
As the weather warms, Wisconsin will return to the Midwest for the remainder of the spring season with events in Illinois and Indiana. But then, the Badgers will send several golfers to the Big Ten Championships in Baltimore, Maryland.
Hopefully, the Badgers can move forward from this week and get back on track in these upcoming contests.
