2004-05 Men's Golf Outlook

01/27/05 11:23PM

WILLIAMSBURG, VA - In his second season at the helm, Director of Golf Jay Albaugh has positioned Tribe men’s program for its first NCAA Regional qualification since 2002 thanks to the leadership of two dynamic seniors and the emergence of several underclassmen. With two medalists fronting a talented squad, the Tribe has all the ingredients to turn in under par team scores and challenge for team and individual titles. A fantastic fall has left the squad poised for even greater success.

Senior Tim Pemberton’s return to the team from a redshirt season immediately elevates the Tribe’s play and provides veteran leadership for the underclassmen. A former individual medalist and All-CAA, all-state and all-region honoree, the senior brings a wealth of national-level tournament experience to the team. A qualifier for two U. S. Amateurs and competitor at the 2004 Players Amateur, Pemberton is one of the team’s leaders between and outside the ropes, and the knowledge he can impart to the Tribe’s younger players is just as valuable as the low numbers he consistently posts. His return gives the Green and Gold a steady anchor who can dip into the 60s at the No. 1 position and close tournaments for the team. With a phenomenal short game and aggressive style of play, Pemberton provides a spark in competition, but his enthusiasm in teaching his younger teammates has made the bigger difference this season.

Fellow senior co-captain Gary Barton has steadily improved each season and has solidified his role as a team leader. Another former individual medalist (winning the Old Dominion Seascape Invitational in 2002), Barton played 23 rounds last season and provides valuable experience and wisdom on course setups. A player who can dip into the 60s, Barton has been a leader for the team at CAAs each of the past three seasons, earning all-conference honors each time. He carried a young team on his shoulders last year and, after showing the underclassmen the ropes, is ready to reap the rewards of that investment. An incredibly even-keeled golfer, Barton’s scores counted 91.7% of the time in the fall and he is able to mix the ability to go low while playing smartly to avoid mistakes and big numbers.

The emergence of three sophomores has truly solidified W&M’s threat at the regional level. Hunter Watts, Ryan Price and Matt Brantingham all clicked to end the fall, helping the Green and Gold end the season with four-straight top-three finishes. Watts has blossomed in his sophomore campaign, firing a career-low 70 to open the Hoya Invitational and hold the clubhouse lead through most of the first round. Watts, playing in No. 1 position to close the tournament, showed maturity beyond his years under pressure, coming home at level par (72) to claim runner-up honors at the tournament, his best collegiate finish. Watts also led the team at the Big Five Classic by carding a 72 to close the tournament. He rode a hot putter through the fall and also is a great iron player with solid course management. Ryan Price has developed into one of the team’s most consistent golfers and has also added the ability to go low. A gritty player, when his ball striking is off he still manages his game, indicated by his scores counting 90% of the time. A strong driver, Price twice hit 73 during the fall, and broke out at last year’s Kingsmill/W&M Invitational, where he claimed seventh (73-75). His steady play led to the third-best fall stroke average (75.10), behind only co-captains Pemberton and Barton. Brantingham provides the team with a strong force at the No. 5 position, as, atypical for the five-spot, he possesses the game to break into the 60s. He posted strong scores during the summer and aims to reproduce those totals in tournament play, although he has already carded a collegiate career-low of 72 and fired 73 twice during the fall. With a strong short game, he can play more aggressively in the five-spot and help push W&M to the top of the leaderboard.

Three consistent upperclassmen who can be relied upon to come home with solid rounds bolster the Tribe’s lineup. Senior Tom McGinn shot 72-74 to open the Joe Agee Invitational this fall and also competed at the Navy Invitational where both of his rounds counted towards the team total. With a career high of seventh coming last spring in the Treasure Coast Classic, McGinn can be relied upon to shoot a steady number for the Tribe when called upon. Junior Jeff Steckmest is one of the longest hitters on the team and boasts a career-low of 70. Already a strong wedge player, he is working on developing a variety of shots, and with greater imagination in his short game he can chop strokes off his average to break into the 60s. Senior Robby McKetta is one of the squad’s most physically gifted players whose fall was highlighted with an opening 74 at the Joe Agee Invitational. With a strong game off the tee and a career low of 72, he can be a valuable contributor with greater consistency.

The Tribe welcomes three talented freshmen who have already shown promise in limited competition during the fall. Joel St. Laurent started for the squad at the Navy Invitational, shooting 78-79 in his first collegiate tournament with both rounds counting towards the team score. Tested in a wealth of premier amateur tournaments, St. Laurent was the 2003 New Hampshire Junior Am runner-up and advanced to the round of 16 at the state Am. He also just missed qualifying for the U. S. Junior Am, losing in a playoff at sectionals after carding 71-78. Strong off the tee and possessing a good iron game, he should adapt well to the longer layout of college golf. Jay Sutton has recorded the lowest round of the fall by the freshmen with a sterling 73 coming in the second round of Joe Agee Invitational. The 2001 Kentucky state championship runner-up, he earned regional player of the year honors in 2001 and boasts numerous all-state and all-region selections. A strong putter with a solid mid-irons game he should be able to shave strokes off his game after learning collegiate golf. Jonas Miller, ranked the No. 2 golfer among Texas private schools, was a conference champion as a junior and won twice on the Northern Texas PGA Tour. A veteran of the Future College World Tour, he shot 75 in his first collegiate round at the Joe Agee Invitational. A great scrambler with good iron play, he can avoid big numbers and be a consistent contributor.

This confluence of senior leadership, emerging youth and raw talent has already produced results in one of the finest fall seasons for the Tribe. The squad’s first tournament, the Navy Fall Invitational, immediately showcased the potential of the group, with Pemberton firing a even-par 71 to hold the 18-hole lead while Barton carded a 72 to sit just one stroke back. Pemberton went on to claim runner-up honors in the event at 1-over 143, just one stroke shy of the individual medal, while Barton tied for eighth at 145 (+3), three shots back. W&M tied for ninth place as a team, carding totals of 303 and 301 for each round.

More brilliant golf was witnessed at DePaul’s John Dallio Memorial where the Tribe shot a tournament-best six-under 282 for round two as Barton, Pemberton, Watts and Price all went low. Through 36 holes, Barton and Pemberton were tied for fifth at 4-under 140 as Barton coupled a 68 (-4) in round two with a 72 (E) while Pemberton shot under par in both rounds, combining a second-round 69 (-3) with a 71 (-1) in round one. Watts and Price stepped up for the Tribe as Watts shot level-par 72 in round two with Price carding a 1-over 73 for both rounds, pushing W&M to its low team score of the fall season. Harsh conditions faced golfers in the final round but W&M still moved from fourth to third in the team standings by scoring low in relation to the rest of the field as Barton held on to claim 10th. It would be the start of four-straight top-three showings for the Green and Gold.

Pemberton and Barton were also in contention from the start at the Tribe’s inaugural Joe Agee Invitational as the duo shot 36-hole totals of 141 (-3), two back of the lead, in a strong day for the Green and Gold. McGinn shot 146 for two rounds while Watts and Brantingham continued their consistent play with 150 as the College shot a solid 4-over 580 (291-289) to sit only three back from the lead entering the final round. W&M went head-to-head with Rutgers and Towson in what emerged as a three-team race and fell just short of taking the team title as Rutgers won the tournament ahead of the runner-up Tribe. Pemberton scored his second runner-up showing of the season, again missing medalist honors by a single stroke, while Barton claimed sixth. Brantingham closed by firing his low round of the fall, a 73, while McGinn and Watts both tied for 16th. Sutton also impressed by claiming 25th in his first collegiate tournament in an effort punctuated by a strong 1-over 73 in round two.

Penn’s Big Five Classic witnessed a breakout performance by Watts, who closed with an even-par 72 to jump into fifth place at the tournament, his first collegiate top-five finish. Pemberton and Barton finished just one stroke behind Watts, tied for sixth, as on the strength of three top-10 finishes the Tribe claimed runner-up honors in the team standings for the second-consecutive tournament.

Watts continued to roll at Georgetown’s Hoya Invitational, carding a career-low 2-under 70 in round one to hold the clubhouse lead for much of the day, before ending the day one stroke off the lead. Pemberton also mounted a charge in round one, firing a 73 to sit four shots back. Watts played admirably under the pressure of his first hunt for an individual medal, coming home at level par for a 2-under 142, which for a time, seemed to be the magic number for a playoff as scores continued to roll in with none of the other leaders going low. In the final group of the day, Korey Mahoney of Eastern Michigan closed with a 68 for a four-shot victory, but Watts snared runner-up honors in his best collegiate finish in terms of leaderboard position, total score and relation to par. Pemberton closed with a 72 to claim eighth as he again put himself in consideration for the win by going low on his front nine. All around, the final round saw one of W&M’s best team efforts as three Tribe golfers carded even-par 72, and the other two shot 73, for a team total of 289 with a strong 73 being the high score thrown out in the top-four of five tally. Barton completed the trio of College golfers coming home in level par (along with Watts and Pemberton) while Brantingham and sophomore Price tied their best rounds of the fall to close the season, propelling W&M to its fourth-straight top-three finish of the season.

In addition to its three-two-two-three finish in the last four tournaments, the Tribe witnessed 10 individual top-10 performances during the fall, with half of those coming in the squad’s final two tournaments, illustrating the momentum W&M created to end the season. Ending the fall season on such a high note, the Tribe should pick up right where it left off for the spring campaign, as it positions itself for the CAA Championship and a possible return to the NCAA Regionals.