From April 4-6, the University of Wisconsin men’s golf team teed up at the Mason Rudolph Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt. The 14-team field included several powerhouses like No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Ole Miss and No. 18 Vanderbilt, along with many individual golfers within the top 100 in the nation.
For this event, the Badgers lineup consisted of freshmen William Harned and Charles Erlandson, juniors Spencer Turtz and Jacob Beckman and senior Graham Moody. The Badgers did not have any individuals competing in this event. Coming into this event, Harned had led the Badgers in scoring for two consecutive events.
The first round played tough for the Badgers, as they shot 14-over par and found themselves dead last in the field. The freshmen continued to show out for the Badgers, as Harned and Erlandson both turned in three-over cards of 75, leading the Badgers through one round. Beckman and Moody both turned in four-over 76s, and Turtz had his score scratched and six over, a 78.
The second round played the same for the Badgers, as they turned in another team score of fourteen-over par. This time, however, it was Turtz and Beckman who led the Badgers, both going two-over for a pair of 74s. Harned and Moody both slowed down a tad, going four-over and six-over par, respectively. Unfortunately, after the solid first round, Erlandson struggled big time, having his score scratched at ten over, an 81.
But, come the third round, the Badgers lit up the course. They turned in the third-best third round of any team in the field at seven-under par, a massive bounce back from the first two rounds. Once again, it was the freshmen, Harned and Erlandson, who both turned in rounds of four-under, a pair of 67s. Moody also had a nice bounce back, shooting an even-par round of 72. Turtz turned in a one-over round of 72, while Beckman had his score scratched but still turned in a solid round of 75, four over par.
Harned climbed 30 spots on the players leaderboard in the third round, finishing the event at three-over par and in 37th place. Erlandson and Turtz both finished the tournament nine-over par and tied for 64th, while the pair of Moody and Beckman finished the event at 10-over par and tied for 68th.
While it may not have been the greatest tournament the Badgers have played, they showed impressive resilience come the final round. They were staring down a last place finish, with presumably not much to still play for. But, they went out and played a wonderful third round as a team, climbing one spot to avoid a last place finish.
The Badgers will look to bounce back next week in their final event of the regular season at The Ford in Georgia. The Ford will be the last event before the Big Ten championships for men’s golf, which will be in Baltimore, Md., from April 25-27.
Without a doubt, the Badgers would like to pick up some momentum heading into the championships. The question becomes, can they build off that incredibly strong third round they played this week?