After struggling throughout the season, the Webster University golf team finally showed its potential in the last tournament of the fall, the MacMurray Fall Invitational in Jacksonville, Ill., on Sunday, Sept. 30. The Gorloks finished tied for first with Illinois Central College in a 10-team field. Webster shoot a 299 — 11 over par. The 299 score was Webster’s lowest round score of the fall, topping the previous mark by nine strokes.
“We finally did in tournament play what I’d been watching in practice every day,” coach Andrew Belsky said. “We finally lived up to the expectations that we had going into the season. This is where we thought we could be and where we should be, but we finally got there.”
Junior Andrew Noble led the Gorloks and the rest of the field of 59 golfers as the tournament leader with a score of 71. Noble’s score was the lowest individual round of the fall for Webster.
“I took the adjustments and what I had done throughout the week into this tournament,” Noble said. “It just kind of took off from there. I felt confident in what I was doing. Confidence is a big thing, and that’s something I kind of lacked at the beginning of the season and towards the middle when I was struggling. Just being confident was a huge factor.
“I just took it one shot at a time and focused on it hole by hole. I tried to make the best swings I could and put myself in good position to keep this round going and not let it fall apart.”
Two other Gorloks — seniors Dan Klipsch and Steven Kinsman — finished in the top 10, but Belsky said he was most impressed with Noble.
“He was challenged because he wasn’t playing well over the last couple of weeks,” Belsky said. “He spent a lot of time working on his game, and it showed. The hard work paid off right there in that round.”
Klipsch and Kinsman finished tied for fourth and eighth, respectively. Klipsch shot a 74 while Kinsman finished with a 75. Freshman Brodie Dakin placed tied for 19th after shooting a 79. Junior J.T. Beckmann rounded out Webster’s scores tied for 41st with an 86.
“Everyone had a good week of preparation,” Noble said. “The course set up for us really well. It was relatively wide open. We didn’t have to worry about hitting shots out of bounds. We were able to be confident in what we were doing and swing freely.”
The first place finish sends Webster on a positive note heading into the offseason.
“It gives us a good finish to the fall season,” Belsky said. “It showed us what hard work can do, and it gives us the encouragement for them to continue working individually over the winter so we are ready to go come spring time.”
Webster will resume action on March 2 and 3 in the Tournament at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga.
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