Georgia Southern has now won its season opener in back-to-back years – same tournament, same golf course, similar roster but very different details. A year ago, the Eagles eeked out a one-shot team victory at the Golfweek Fall Challenge, going berserk behind the 18th green when then-sophomore Harrison Sewell holed an eight-footer to clinch it.
On Tuesday, Georgia Southern logged a nine-shot victory at True Blue Golf Club in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. The team, which finished 54 holes at 26 under, had been 16 shots ahead entering the final round. Despite a final-round charge from Troy, Georgia Southern remained comfortably in control. Troy finished at 17 under, with Georgia State third at 9 under.
It is not always easy to maintain focus in that
situation, as Georgia Southern head coach Carter Collins explained. Credit to the Eagles for bringing the focus back to themselves and finishing the job even as their minds began to wander a bit mid-round.
“I think the biggest thing was getting their focus on us being our best,” Collins said. “We put so much emphasis on having goals of winning and then when you feel like that’s in a good spot, sometimes you can lose your focus and they can wander. I think we were probably guilty of that a few times today.
“I also think there were times when we were starting to slide the wrong way and guys were making birdies and having fist pumps, you could tell they were definitely in the competitive mode no matter what.”
Winning in golf is rare, as Collins knows. But when it happens at the beginning of the season, it builds a strong foundation that a team can reference even if times get tough down the stretch.
Collins’ team went all the way to NCAA Regionals last season, securing their spot with an at-large bid. He brings a similar team into this season, led by returners Morgan Blythe and Harrison Sewell, men who tied for third individually at True Blue with a 54-hole score of 8 under, as well as Thomas Horne, who was inside the top 20.
The winning individual score came from Tennessee-Martin’s Drew Williams, who finished the tournament at 10 under.
Blythe, who fought through injury over the summer, played his first competitive round since June. That kind of perseverance spurred on a team that still skews young despite the fact that four of the six who traveled to regionals return for this season.
“We definitely have new leadership this year. That’s been huge,” said Collins. “We’ve got guys who have a strong voice in the van – they’re close. I know every coach says that, but our guys, they really are. They’re a good group.”
Georgia Southern is not only deeper, it’s taller. The addition of 6-foot-7-inch freshman Erik Erlenkeuser has been huge – literally.
“Erik brings so much calmness and consistency with everything – he has really helped our team,” Collins said. “I think that’s pretty rare – a freshman can have that big of an impact on us, on and off the golf course.”
To wit, Erlenkeuser marked his college debut in the first round at True Blue with a 5-under 67 that included seven birdies.
Collins likes each season to start with a team-building trip. Last year, Georgia Southern arrived at the Golfweek Fall Challenge after spending a few days in the North Carolina mountains. This year, however, the Eagles left Pawley’s Island with their team building still to come. Collins would take his men to Atlanta for some low-stakes golf and two Braves baseball games the following weekend.
It all contributes to a culture of closeness that seems to be the Georgia Southern way, year after year.
“Starting last year with a lot of new faces, I think what we see now is a lot of the perseverance and camaraderie they built over the last 12 months,” Collins said in summing up the uniqueness of this year’s squad. “If there’s a defining moment of this week, it’s just how close this team is together and they had each other’s back.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Same team, different details: Georgia Southern prevails again at Golfweek Fall Challenge
