Patriots golf eyes conference title

Bobby Ennis and the rest of the men’s Patriots golf team look to win the team’s first conference championship this week. Photo by Clay Ihlo.

Hopes are sky high for the University golf teams at the American Southwest Conference tournament in Marble Falls this week.

The women’s team looks to defend their title, while the men ride a six tournament winning streak to the Hill Country.

“This is the best stretch of playing since I’ve been coach,” head coach King Campbell said.  “We won six times last year, but this makes the first time ever for six [wins] in a row.”

The Patriots’ average win total during the streak is just more than 13, the largest being 27 at the Coca-Cola Intercollegiate March 11-13.

“It seems like whomever we have played this spring has played well,” he said.

Campbell said this is the most confidence he has been going into the conference tournament since becoming the head coach. However, the course, Ram Rock Golf Course, is one of the toughest in the state Campbell said.

“We’ve played the course from the tips, and it’s a really challenging golf course,” he said. “The conference has decided to shorten it and make it more manageable, because the plan is to play 36 holes the first day.”

Campbell added the tougher the courses shows who truly is the best team.

Senior Bobby Ennis believes the six wins are all in the lineup.

“I feel like we’ve found the right mixture of players right now,” Ennis said. “Pretty much anyone can go out and win whatever tournament we’re in.”

“We just came off a really solid win at UTD,” he said. “All top five guys were in the top 10 individually ... we just need to do what we’ve done all year.

On the women’s side, Campbell said team is very capable of winning.

He added while the team has been inconsistent at times his five players should be in contention to defend their title.

Campbell said he believes McMurry and Schreiner University are the teams to beat.

Winning the conference tournament earns you an automatic bid into the Division III National Tournament in May 11-14.

The men’s national tournament is set to be played in Hersey, Penn. The women’s is scheduled to be played in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. just outside Orlando.