Bloomington, Ill. - To start Monday at the members-only Crestwicke Country Club, coach Sean Kennedy's ICC men's golf team found themselves warming up in temperatures that brushed up against the high-50s. Well, just as quickly as the action got going, so rose the temperatures, and the Cougars got to work. The 36-hole MWAC Fall Championship proved to feature a quality but challenging course layout. ICC would lead the team and individual (
Peyton Woods) leaderboards after 18 holes. As the back half of the day progressed, competition increased further, and ICC would ultimately settle for fourth as a team. Woods nearly maintained his spot, finishing just two strokes shy of medalist honors.
HOW DID EVERYONE DO?
Peyton Woods | T-3rd Place | +9 | 153
Woods' short game was pretty much remarkable. On the sixth hole, the green was taking prisoners all throughout the day as one of the more difficult results of the rounds. Woods, however, took his approach shot to within range of a tap-in putt, and would card a birdie. Among other shots, Woods had a mid-range approach shot that certainly looked good off of contact and flight of the ball. Lo and behold, it fell mere inches from the pin for another tap-in birdie. Approach shots of that nature would be a common occurrence for the freshman over the course of the day. He would ultimately birdie on seven of the 36 holes.
Hunter Ficken | 10th Place | +12 | 156
Ficken had a somewhat similar approach on the sixth hole to Woods. From a deep rough just shy of the green on the right side, Ficken would chip within a foot of the pin and would par the hole. By the end of the 36 holes, he would also have seven birdies. Within those birdies is birding the 392-yard par-4 eighth hole on both rounds for the day. He would secure his spot as the second ICC golfer in the top ten individually by one stroke.
Brock Taylor | T-19th Place | +19 | 163
Taylor's day was perhaps affected by the greens to a degree. A prime example would be the 11th hole. Taylor had a medium-range put take a perfect line, but curve just shy of the pin for what would become a par. It would still be a quality round for the freshman, who would finish with three birdies, all coming on holes seven, eight, or nine, with the latter being the third-longest hole on the front nine.
Collin Roche | T-21st Place | +20 | 164
The infamous sixth green didn't phase Roche. In fact, he would par that hole on both rounds. Roche carded a par or better on 19 of his 36 holes, including a birdie on 15 and a birdie on 16. Among Roche's round was also carding a par in both rounds on the par-5 14th hole, which at 570 yards from the black tees, is the longest hole on the course.
Quinn Cox | T-32nd Place | +37 | 181
Continuing the sixth green theme, Cox would settle for a par in both rounds. He would also par both rounds on the par-5 530-yard second hole, the longest on the front nine. The widely recognized 12th hole, known as "Hog Alley", proved difficult. The narrow fairway with woodlands on one side and private property on the other side give golfers perhaps the most difficult tee shot of the day. Despite the layout, the hole is a mere par four, meaning bogeying or higher is not an entirely rare occurrence. Cox would conclude his day with 16 pars and one birdie, which came on the aforementioned 570-yard par five 14th. Following that birdie, Cox finished the round with a solid run of four consecutive pars.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Clash at the Creek (Hosted by Joliet JC)
Nettle Creek Golf Club - Morris, Illinois
Friday, October 6th - 9:00 AM
