[Men's Golf] Schulz Earns Top-Five in TMU Dutch Classic

SOLVANG, Calif. – The TMU Dutch Classic was a week of firsts for the San Diego Christian College men's golf team. Dealing with blustery conditions, Coach Matt Ward's men posted their best-ever team finish, and freshman Troy Schulz earned the Hawk's first-ever top-five individual placement.

As a unit, the Hawk men placed sixth in the ten-team field, coming in ahead of Golden State Athletic Conference opponent's Hope International, William Jessup, and Vanguard. With each tournament, Coach Matt Ward's squad has improved and is developing the consistency that is necessary to compete in college golf.

"I'm proud of the way these guys continue to compete and work as they progress in their swing changes and decision-making skill development", coach Ward commented.  "It's a very long process to make improvements and it can be discouraging along the way.  This group just continues to work hard and make improvements.  I've always been a process over results coach, and this group of guys keeps hammering away at the process and it shows! The improvements are coming.  The conditions at Alisal Ranch were very difficult as the guys battled 20-35 mph winds on Monday and gusty conditions on Tuesday as well. With the added pressure of not having a 5th player, they have all stepped up their games and get better round by round.  This course was very tight and with winds being very high, it was a challenge for everyone."

Individually, Schultz shot a combined 150 (74, 76) +6, and came in fifth place, only 11 strokes off the overall winner. Additionally, he made 22 pars (only 2 fewer than the top competitor) shot even on the par-fives and made 4 birdies. Sophomore, Louis Techahongsa finished 21st in the 52-man field, made 6 birdies, and played the par-fives at 2-under. In fact, all four of the Hawks landed somewhere on at least one of the individual stat leader boards with Colton Bench going even on the par-fives and Philip Loof shooting 19 pars.

Coach Ward reflected on each player's efforts, "Troy had a great tournament with a top-5 finish and I anticipate we'll see more of this out of him.  He's a steady player who puts himself in good positions to score well. He thinks his way around the course and is pretty strong in all facets of the game.  I'm very impressed with Colton, Louis, and Philip as they continue to improve their mental games and decision-making skills.  It's a process and they are handling the process very well!"

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The Hawks will return to Arizona on November 15-16 for the 2021 ACU Firestorm Fall Invitational.