After cruising through 2015 and 2016, scooping up Big Sky Conference championships in both years, the Idaho men’s golf team has since decelerated.
They’ll look to contradict that trend April 27-29 at the Big Sky Tournament at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Nevada.
At the dawn of the spring season, they were chosen by the coaches to finish fifth. However, with the plurality of Vandal scores throughout the spring generally hovering around high-70s and low-80s, and as some of the top finishes flutter near the mid-70s, a top finish would come as a pleasant surprise.
But the Vandals have an ace in their pocket in all-conference golfer Enrique Marin. The junior native of Spain has consistently notched commendable scores, and has led Idaho in 17 of its 20 rounds in the 2017-18 season.
“It’s been a mental aspect for me because I’ve been trying to work hard on focusing when I’m up on a leaderboard, trying to finish good on the last-day rounds, trying to grind it out,” Marin said. “I feel like that’s what’s taken me to the next level.”
Marin is also a four-time Big Sky Men’s Golfer of the Week and regularly places in the top 25 in each tournament. In the five matches of the spring, for example, he earned the low-round in every one with scores averaging around par.
At the Redhawk Invitational on April 2 and 3, Marin battled back from 2-over and 3-over first and second rounds to knock in a 1-under 70, tie for fifth and led the Vandals to their best team finish of the season.
Idaho notched a 10th place finish in the 17-team field at Seattle-area’s Chambers Bay Golf Course.
That’s been the problem throughout the season — consistency. But, according to Head Coach David Nuhn, his team’s self-assurance has increased throughout the year.
“Definitely their consistency and practice I feel like have really come a long way,” Nuhn said. “I see a lot of focus day-to-day and good preparation.”
Idaho’s team is relatively top-heavy. Marin is obviously the captain, but freshman Adam Veenstra and sophomore Brock Anderson oftentimes lend a bit of support, albeit, a few notches down the line.
Veenstra and Anderson flip back and forth between the second and third best scorers on occasion. They generally shoot in the mid-to-high 70s and insert themselves in the middle of the pack.
“Seeing a lot of the younger guys step up and be competitive right away is a nice surprise,” Nuhn said. “What we need to do to be successful this weekend is just to take it one hole at a time. We can’t allow the moment to be bigger than it is, because it’s just golf; find a way to get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible.”
As for the Vandals’ competition next weekend, they will get a break from their regular tenacious opponents. Only four of the eight Big Sky teams are ranked in the top 200 of Golfstat’s relative rankings — the predominant college golf ranking system.
“Realistically, we’ve spent eight months just preparing for this last tournament,” Nuhn said. “We’ve been playing in fields featuring top 25 teams and top 100 players, week in and week out, and now we’re going to go play in the Big Sky tournament where I think it’ll be a much more even playing field.”
Northern Colorado, the coaches’ pick for conference champion, comes into the tournament as the No. 152 team in the country. Southern Utah, the pick for second, is 167th. Sacramento State, last year’s champion, sits at 194 and Weber State at 187.
Idaho is currently ranked 222nd in the country.
Thus far, the Bears — last year’s second-place finishers — have fielded perhaps the best overall team, and almost easily the best individual.
Sophomore Coby Welch, the conference’s freshman of the year last season and all-conference selection, finished second as an individual.
At last year’s tournament, Marin claimed the eighth spot, but Idaho finished seventh overall.
The women’s team is coming off a Big Sky Championship, which has been a catalyst for the men’s team.
“The guys understand that if we play our best we’re definitely going to be there at the end and have an opportunity to win,” Nuhn said. “We’ve been preparing mentally and now seeing the women’s team go out and finish their business it gives us a lot of motivation to go out there next week and try to do the same thing.”
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected]