The men’s golf team continued its struggle with a lack of experience last weekend, finishing only in a tie for 15th amongst 17 finishers at the Duke Golf Classic.
“Our results have been disappointing,” said junior James Johnson, the low Buc for the tournament, who shot 73-76-73 to finish 6-over par, good enough for a 10th-place tie.
“It’s a respectable finish, Johnson said, although he added that he should have been in contention to win. Unlike the competition the Bucs had faced entering this third tournament in as many weeks, “it was a fairly weak field,” he said. Virginia Tech claimed the team title by six strokes over Augusta State, while the Buccaneers and Virginia Commonwealth were 37 strokes behind at 59-over.
The Bucs other junior, Adam Riddering, finished well back, in a 52nd-place tie at 16-over, two shots in front of Cennydd Mills, the freshman who led the Bucs’ in their first two tournaments. Marco Trejos (84-76-78, 22) and Noel Kavanaugh (84-76-80, 24) finished in tie for 72nd and 76th, respectively, while Jeremy Hobson (81-82-79, 26) competed as an individual, meaning his score was not added to the team total.
Yet, even in the face of such disappointment, Johnson is confident the team will rise again.
“You can’t, obviously, set your goals as high as last (year),” he said. Yet, if they start playing better “week-by-week,” he claimed, “There’s no reason why we can’t make the NCAA’s.”
“We’ve got good players,” Johnson said.

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