Rutgers men's golf finishes regular season, readies for Big Ten Championships
In its final event before the conference championship tournament, the Rutgers men's golf team shot 8-over par and finished in eighth place at the Robert Kepler Invitational held in Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend.
The Scarlet Knights were led by a pair of top-20 finishers. Sophomore Rhett Sellers shot a 3-under for the tournament, finishing tied for 12th. Behind him, junior Xavier Marcoux shot 1-over par, tying him for 19th.
Sellers started off the weekend strong, carding a 5-under 67 in the first round. This left him tied for second entering round two.
Marcoux’s weekend trended in the opposite direction. He entered the final round in 27th place but finished with a 3-under 69 to break into the top 20.
Rounding out the field for Rutgers was junior Luke Wells and freshmen Weston Jones, Cade Anderson and Garrett Kessler. Wells finished tied for 38th while Jones, Anderson and Kessler each placed outside the top 50.
The Knights came into Ohio on the back of their best result of the season, having tied for fourth at the Boilermaker Invitational earlier this month.
Despite the result falling short of last week’s effort, head coach Robert Schutte was impressed with how his team played, in part due to the strength of the field.
“Sunday's 3-over performance from us was right up there with some of the best teams in the conference,” Schutte said.
The team has emphasized staying consistent and focused through adversity, specifically with regards to their putting.
“For us, a lot of it is just making the short putts, putts from like 5 to 10 feet and just not making mental doubles,” Wells said. “When we do that the best … we play the best.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s tournament, the lineup is expected to remain the same as it was in Ohio. Schutte indicated that given how young the team is, a learning curve is to be expected but he is confident with where his squad is at currently.
In addition to their opponents at the conference tournament, Rutgers will have to overcome the challenges that the course poses.
"This golf course setup is going to be very on the edge," Shutte said. “I expect green speeds to be way up, the rough will be way up and the wind will be up.
The tournament takes place over three days, with the final round teeing off on Sunday.
“I want the guys to really enjoy themselves,” Schutte said. “They had a really good time together this year. I expect them to have a ton of fun and treat it like any other tournament."
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