Sports
Bobcat Golfers Excited for Firestone Invitational
By: Sarah Rachul
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The Ohio Bobcats men's golf team travels to Akron, Ohio this weekend for the Firestone Invitational Monday, October 8 and Tuesday October 9 on the Firestone North Course. When asked about the upcoming event, the team expressed its excitement to get back into competition after a disappointing finish at the Marshall Invitational four weeks ago.
"I'm not nervous, just excited" said senior golfer Michael Lamping.
Lamping is one of the four senior golfers on the team and has had an impressive record, shooting the third lowest average score on the team last year.
Confidence is a necessary trait in golf, and Lamping certainly has plenty of it but still keeps a realistic view of the challenges that could face him at the upcoming tournament. One of the biggest challenges next week will be weather.
"Weather is a big thing in Midwest golfing, especially in October," said Lamping. "The best way to deal with it is to realize everyone is playing in it."
Freshman Brad Burgess and junior Connor Coldwater are more than ready to get to the course and start competing.
"I'm excited, I'm ready to get going." said Burgess, the only freshman to qualify for the Firestone Invitational.
After working on his short game the past few weeks, he believes it will be a great compliment to the strongest part of his game: the driver.
"I tend to hit the ball pretty far, so I think that gives me an advantage over some people I play."
Burgess hopes that this advantage will help him go low on the North Course next week.
Coldwater is just as excited to play, but he is also looking forward to the company he will have on the course. When asked about the Akron team, who will host the tournament, he had nothing but positive things to say.
"We've played with them before, they're really fun to play with," he said. Coldwater is a junior this year, and his career-best finish was 7th place at last year's Mid-American Conference Championships.
The player most excited for the upcoming tournament is senior Byron Firestone.
"Firestone is my home course, I'm from Canton, Ohio" said Firestone with a smile; his last name alone shows the connection he has with the course. The senior is particularly excited to play the North Course.
"The North Course I find to be a little easier for me cause I'm straighter off the tee and kind of a short ball hitter," stated Firestone, who is both confident and excited to face the Akron team on home turf. "I know the Akron team pretty well and no I'm not really nervous playing them. We met them twice last year and beat them both times."
The Bobcats will need to stay mentally strong at the Invitational, but as long as the players keep their confident attitude, they will have a great chance at pulling off a top finish.