TPC Deere Run

SSM Golfers made a charge on the final day of the Plantation’s Junior Golf Tour TPC Deere Run Tournament on Sunday.  Led by Phillip Baumberger’s 73 which was good enough to move him into a tie for 4th place in the 15-17 age group.  Nathan Zhao playing in the group directly behind Baumberger finished with a final round 74 to move him into a tie for 6th place.  Both golfers were in a tie for 10th place after their first round 77′s and knew they had an opportunity to make a move with good rounds.  The wind and colder temperatures on Sunday made the scoring conditions tougher but both played solid all day and avoided any major mistakes.  Coach Higdon is extremely proud of both golfers on their consistent play all weekend in the great field of players from the Midwest.  This is Baumberger’s low competitive round for the season and Zhao equalled is low round for the year.  Coach Higdon had the following to say,   “It was a fun day to sit on the side and watch the great play between both of our golfers.  I am happy for Phillip and he should be proud of his weekend.  He has worked extremely hard all year and has incorporated a lot of changes in his swing.  After spring break everything seems to be clicking for him and he is striking the ball the best I have seen.  His 73 was a great round today and both golfers can carry a lot of momentum into our final tournament of the season in two weeks at Whistling Straits.”

Sean Kim using one of three indoor hitting bays on campus

Brendan Burnett-Kurie from the Faribault Daily News stopped by for the day and we were able to catch up and talk about the Golf Center of Excellence and its evolution over the first 11 months of existence. Click the following link to take a look!  http://faribault.com/content/ssm-golf-graduates-big-time-success

Golfers wrapped up in Palm Desert, CA with many positives coming from the trip out west.  The two-day tournament had weather conditions at each end of the spectrum.  The first day was absolutely perfect with temperatures near 75 degrees and no breeze at all.  The second round was a lot different with temperatures not getting over 60 degrees and the wind gusting in upwards of 40 mph.   Nathan Zhao continued his strong play after coming off a victory in his last tournament this past December with a 2nd place finish in the Boys 13-15 age group.  Zhao was tied with two other golfers for 2nd place after the first round and was only one shot off of the leader.  He shot a 2nd round 84 that was good enough for sole possession of second place after completion of the tournament and two shots back of the leader.  The Classic Club can be known for its tough playing conditions as it used to be a host course for the Bob Hope Classic but the brutally tough conditions caused the PGA Tour to reconsider and move to another location.

In the Boys 16-19 age group Jake Curwin made a considerable jump on the leader board during the second round.  He started out the final day in 34th position with an opening round 83 but was able to keep his focus and come out hot on the final day.  Curwin posted the 3rd lowest score of the day out of the 100 junior golfers that took to the course with a 79 in the brutally tough conditions.  With that great final round he was able to jump 20+ positions on the leader board and finish in 13th place.  Phillip Baumberger also moved up on the leader board on the final day with a round of 86 after an opening round 87 which put him in 33rd place overall.

Sydney Brickey finished in 13th place in the Girls 13-18 age group after fighting hard and holding her composure.  She had an opening round 93 then followed that up with a final round 102. 

COE Golfers took to the Mountain Course at the La Quinta Resort in California for a great day of golf with alumni in the Palm Desert area.  After a wonderful day of golf, about 35 people came together for an amazing dinner reception comprising of current and past students along with employees to talk about Shattuck-St. Mary’s School and the bright future ahead of the organizaion.  Our current players enjoyed swapping stories with many past students from all different eras of the school.  It was great to see so many smiles and the enthusiasm shared by all.  COE golfers are playing a practice round at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, CA on Friday, February 17th to prepare for an FCWT event on Saturday and Sunday.  This is the first time the golfers are back in competitive action since dominating the Plantations Junior Tour Field at the TPC Sawgrass on December 17th and 18th.  Sydney Brickey starts the SSM action by teeing off at 7:30am Pacific Time on Saturday while  Phillip Baumberger is slated to tee off at 8:03, Jake Curwin at 8:38, and Nathan Zhao at 9:05am.

SSM Golfers finished strong on the final day of the Plantations Junior Tour event at TPC Sawgrass.  The final round was played on the Stadium Course which plays host to the PGA Tour’s Players Championship.  Nathan Zhao fired a final round 80 which allowed him to win the tournament by 2 shots in the Boys 14-19 age group.  Nathan’s round started out rough with a front nine score of 43 and trailed David Baker of North Carolina by 3 shots going into the final 9 holes.  Zhao buckled down and finished strong with a 1 over par 37 on the final nine holes to take the crown by 2 shots over Baker.  This is Nathan’s first win in a national junior tour event.  Phillip Baumberger finished just as strong as Zhao with a back nine score of 38 to follow up his 48 on the front nine and was able to edge out fellow SSM golfer, Jake Curwin, by one shot who tool sole 4th place.  Sydney Brickey was able to move up a few spots by shooting her best competitive round with a final round of 87.

For all of you wondering about the famous #17 island green at Sawgrass, SSM golfers tamed it pretty well.  Every one of the golfers hit the green on their first shot, which is a great accomplishment.  #18 did jump up and get the best of Sydney and Jake but Phillip was able to birdie the 18th with 3 great shots.  The golfers will have a break in competition until February 17th when they head west to California.

SSM boys crowd the top of the leader board after the first day of the Plantations Tour TPC Sawgrass tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.  Golfers played the Dye’s Valley course which has played host to the Nationwide’s Tour Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open. Nathan Zhao is sitting at top tied for 1st place in the boys 14-19 age group with a first round score of 77.  Nathan had one  birdie on the day but had numerous chances that just didn’t fall.  Phillip Baumberger sits in sole 3rd place with a score of 78 in which he had birdies on his first and second holes of the round.  Jake Curwin rounds out the SSM golfers tied for 4th place with a score of 79 which was highlighted with 5 birdies.  Sydney Brickey is sitting in 5th place on the girls side with a round of 90.  Coach Higdon is happy with the way the kids played to today.  “With our three boys sitting in spots 1st through 4th, I am pretty happy with the things heading into the final round.  Each one of the boys left a few shots on the course as typical with every round of golf, but overall they played pretty solid.  They have all put themselves in position to win the tournament, let’s see if one of them can go out and take the crown.  It will be fun to watch them all battle tomorrow on the Stadium Course which is host to the PGA Tour’s Player Championship.  I hope it is close coming down to the famous #17 island green par 3 and the tough #18.  It will make for a great finish.”  Brickey tees off at 10:50 EST. tomorrow.  Curwin tees off at 12:02 while Baumberger and Zhao are playing in the final group of the day at 12:10.

The sun was shining and the temperature was warmer than Faribault, but the winds were brutal and wreaked havoc on the junior golfers playing in the Plantations Junior Golf Tour at the University of Kentucky Club in Lexington, KY.  Our golfers stayed strong and battled the 4o mph gusts, an excellent test in facing adversity.  Four SSM golfers took to the course and Junior, Phillip Baumberger, carded an 81 on day one and followed up with an 82 on Sunday to finish in 12th place of the 59 boys aged 14 to 19 battling for an AJGA tournament exemption.  Junior, Jake Curwin, shot a final round 84 after an opening round 83 to finish in 18th place.  Freshman, Nathan Zhao, shot an 85 both rounds to finish in 27th place.  Junior Sydney Brickey, competing in the girls 14 to 19 division, matched Baumberger’s 12th place finish with a final round score of 89. Brickey bettered her first round score by 6 shots.  SSM golfers are taking a four week break in competition before heading to Florida to play at the TPC at Sawgrass in another Plantations Tour Event December 17th and 18th.  Coach Higdon was happy with the way the players competed all weekend and persevered.  “It was a true test of physical strength and mental stamina playing against the gusts of wind all weekend.  Our golfers represented themselves well and fought strong ’til the end.  I saw many juniors giving up and complaining about the wind, but not our players.  We will continue to practice and grow over the next 4 weeks and look for a strong showing in FL.”

The Golf COE participants hit the links today at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, IL.  Nathan Zhao led the way for the Sabres with a first round total of 75 and only one shot back of the leader in the 13 – 15 age group.  Nathan started on hole 10 and finished his first nine holes in +4 then battled back with 2 birdies and one bogey during his final 9 holes to post a one under par for holes 1 through 9.  Zhao is slated to tee off at 9:21 am on Sunday and is in the final pairing.

Sydney Brickey also had a tale of two nines during her round on Saturday.  Sydney started on hole 10 and closed out her front side in 52 shots before settling down and playing solid during her final nine holes.  Brickey rallied for a back side of 41 which was capped by a birdie on hole number 5.  Brickey’s final score of 93 puts her in the middle of the pack and with a good round tomorrow will likely finish in the top five.

Jake Curwin and Phillip Baumberger, both competing in the boys 16-18 age group couldn’t get anything going all day and finished with scores of 87.  The good news for them is the course played tough for everyone and the low score of the day was a 77 which it tool a hole in one for that to happen.  Both are looking for a drastic improvement tomorrow and hoping to crack the top 10.

Golf COE participants are preparing to play in the FCWT tournament October 22 & 23 at the prestigious Dubsdread course at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, IL.  The course has been host to 4 USGA Championships and a constant stop on the PGA Tour since 1991.  Justin Rose won the BMW Championship that was completed a month ago with a score of 13 under par.  First round tee times are scheduled to start at 7:30am on Saturday so stay tuned for updates from Coach Higdon.  You can receive updates and comments from Coach Higdon by following him on Twitter @higgolf or following the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Golf Center of Excellence on Facebook.  You can also track the player’s scores on the FCWT website at the http://fcwt.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/fcwt11/schedule/index.htm.  This will prove to be a true test of golf for our players as the course and field of competitors guarantee to be a tough challenge.