JC Men's Golf: AVC gets best finish in four years
March 23, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
PALMDALE — With a look of distress on his face, Jonathan Hand presented his scoring card to Antelope Valley College coach Brad Hazard on Monday.
It contained the best golf round of the AVC freshman's career.
"It was my best score for the round in the tournaments, but I still feel like I could have played a lot better," said Hand, who shot a team-best 73 during a Western State match at Antelope Valley Country Club.
Hand would only allow himself to crack a smile after learning his performance helped the Marauders claim a second-place finish at their home course, a showing worthy of cheers and hoorays for an AVC squad that has often struggled to make a top-four finish.
There would be no backflips of joy, but Hand and AVC finally allowed themselves to enjoy their best placement in a tournament since Hazard became the coach four years ago.
"It's way different now," Hand said after he saw that AVC's 390 bested all other seven colleges' scores except College of the Canyons' 367. "I'm still a little bummed about my score, but it's awesome."
Hand's outing was just one shot over par, and 10 shots better than his average for the season.
That paired up with a 75 from Mike Weis, 77s from Adam Pool and Kyle Barker, and an 88 from Noah Roy gave AVC much to feel positive about.
"They have the talent and it was good to see them break out," Hazard said.
Santa Barbara was third with a 394, Ventura shot 399 for fourth place and Hancock was fifth with a 400. Glendale shot 403 for sixth place, Citrus shot 415 for seventh and Bakersfield came in last with a 421.
For the past three conference matches, eighth place had been reserved for AVC. For the second consecutive year, playing at home helped the Marauders deliver their best score of the season.
Unlike last year, when a 392 was only good enough for seventh place, this time their home score moved them up in the standings.
It also gave the Marauders, who are now tied for sixth place with Bakersfield in the conference, a confidence boost they plan to use for the remaining three conference matches.
"We shoud be able to build some momentum," Hazard said.
They'll have to do it without the comfort factor of playing at home. On Monday, even as the strong winds disrupted every golfer in the AV, the Marauders knew to take advantage of the conditions.
Hand had two birdies and shot a 36 on the front nine and added another birdie on the back nine of his round for a 37. Pool and Weis also recorded birdies on a day in which the weather induced bogeys all around.
As the players handed in their final scores, one from Santa Barbara could be heard complaining about how the wind had him shaking every time he prepared for a shot.
"I knew it was going to be high scores and I knew it was OK to make a couple bogeys because everyone was going to," Pool said. "You just have to keep grinding.
"It's one of those days when everyone makes bogeys, but you got to keep your head up."
Added Hazard: "It was good to be home. We've been struggling, not reaching our goals. To come home to something familiar, a course that they're used to, it was definitely a boost in confidence."
Only three players shot under par, two of them from Canyons and one from Santa Barbara. For the Marauders, the key to their best round of golf in some time lied in solid performances from their top four scorers.
"They just played par golf," Hazard said.
With a long way to go to make the top part of the standings, they'll need more of the same, plus a fifth strong performance.
"It kind of lets our fifth and sixth guys know, kind of tells them, 'Hey, we need you to step it up, we need you to get to that next level so we can be in the top three teams,'" Weis said.
Playing in their windy comforts, five Marauders did well enough to make the day the best in quite some time for AVC, even as some weren't as pleased initially after their rounds.
"If I had gotten out of my car today and saw the wind today, how the conditions of the course were, and I said 73, I would have probably been stoked about it," Hand said.
Seeing the rest of his teammates also come through changed a lot. AVC hopes it continues on that path.
"It's nice when we all play good as a whole and put up some good scores for AVC," Hand said.
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
PALMDALE — With a look of distress on his face, Jonathan Hand presented his scoring card to Antelope Valley College coach Brad Hazard on Monday.
It contained the best golf round of the AVC freshman's career.
"It was my best score for the round in the tournaments, but I still feel like I could have played a lot better," said Hand, who shot a team-best 73 during a Western State match at Antelope Valley Country Club.
Hand would only allow himself to crack a smile after learning his performance helped the Marauders claim a second-place finish at their home course, a showing worthy of cheers and hoorays for an AVC squad that has often struggled to make a top-four finish.
There would be no backflips of joy, but Hand and AVC finally allowed themselves to enjoy their best placement in a tournament since Hazard became the coach four years ago.
"It's way different now," Hand said after he saw that AVC's 390 bested all other seven colleges' scores except College of the Canyons' 367. "I'm still a little bummed about my score, but it's awesome."
Hand's outing was just one shot over par, and 10 shots better than his average for the season.
That paired up with a 75 from Mike Weis, 77s from Adam Pool and Kyle Barker, and an 88 from Noah Roy gave AVC much to feel positive about.
"They have the talent and it was good to see them break out," Hazard said.
Santa Barbara was third with a 394, Ventura shot 399 for fourth place and Hancock was fifth with a 400. Glendale shot 403 for sixth place, Citrus shot 415 for seventh and Bakersfield came in last with a 421.
For the past three conference matches, eighth place had been reserved for AVC. For the second consecutive year, playing at home helped the Marauders deliver their best score of the season.
Unlike last year, when a 392 was only good enough for seventh place, this time their home score moved them up in the standings.
It also gave the Marauders, who are now tied for sixth place with Bakersfield in the conference, a confidence boost they plan to use for the remaining three conference matches.
"We shoud be able to build some momentum," Hazard said.
They'll have to do it without the comfort factor of playing at home. On Monday, even as the strong winds disrupted every golfer in the AV, the Marauders knew to take advantage of the conditions.
Hand had two birdies and shot a 36 on the front nine and added another birdie on the back nine of his round for a 37. Pool and Weis also recorded birdies on a day in which the weather induced bogeys all around.
As the players handed in their final scores, one from Santa Barbara could be heard complaining about how the wind had him shaking every time he prepared for a shot.
"I knew it was going to be high scores and I knew it was OK to make a couple bogeys because everyone was going to," Pool said. "You just have to keep grinding.
"It's one of those days when everyone makes bogeys, but you got to keep your head up."
Added Hazard: "It was good to be home. We've been struggling, not reaching our goals. To come home to something familiar, a course that they're used to, it was definitely a boost in confidence."
Only three players shot under par, two of them from Canyons and one from Santa Barbara. For the Marauders, the key to their best round of golf in some time lied in solid performances from their top four scorers.
"They just played par golf," Hazard said.
With a long way to go to make the top part of the standings, they'll need more of the same, plus a fifth strong performance.
"It kind of lets our fifth and sixth guys know, kind of tells them, 'Hey, we need you to step it up, we need you to get to that next level so we can be in the top three teams,'" Weis said.
Playing in their windy comforts, five Marauders did well enough to make the day the best in quite some time for AVC, even as some weren't as pleased initially after their rounds.
"If I had gotten out of my car today and saw the wind today, how the conditions of the course were, and I said 73, I would have probably been stoked about it," Hand said.
Seeing the rest of his teammates also come through changed a lot. AVC hopes it continues on that path.
"It's nice when we all play good as a whole and put up some good scores for AVC," Hand said.