Men's Golf Begins Spring Season

By Adam Hunt
Senior Reporter / Columnist

The Mercer men’s golf team began their spring schedule in earnest this March, competing in two prestigious events.

The first was the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational hosted by the University of North Florida. The Bears fired a total score of 307 on the final day to clinch 15th place.

Conditions were tough on the notoriously tricky Sawgrass Country Club course and Mercer did well to improve on their round one and two totals of 312.

Freshman Will Meason was the star man for the Orange and Black with a team-best 229 over the three rounds, good for 42nd place overall.

Matt Tribby also found his form, especially on the final day where he notched a 76. The star senior picked up six birdies over the three-day tournament to finish tied for 65th individually.

The Bears’ youthful line-up was rounded out by three freshmen, Thomas Holmes, John Gregory and Matt Kocolowski.

Mercer completed the event with a score of 931, 17 strokes behind North Carolina State who claimed 14th. UNF took full advantage of their home advantage to capture the title with a six-over par 876.

Just a week later, head coach Andrew Tredway’s men were back in action, this time in Aiken, SC at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate.

Meason was quick to adapt to the course and burned up the fairways in his second round to shoot a five-under par 67. He finished with an 80 on the final day and tied for 22nd place in the individual standings.

Tribby pitched in with the low score for the Bears over the last round with a 73, good for a five-way tie at 59th place.

Once again, Mercer were rounded out by three freshmen – Gregory, Kocolowski and Holmes. Kocolowski was the Bears birdie machine for the tournament, carding ten in 54 holes.

Southern golf powerhouse the University of Chattanooga raced to the title with a total score of 855. Mercer’s 901 just overtook Elon by one stroke to clinch the 14th spot.