Hillsdale golf team looking ahead to postseason success 

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Hillsdale golf team looking ahead to postseason success 
Senior Ryan Zetwick eyes a shot in the Music City Invite last weekend. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletics

The Hillsdale College Chargers look to end their season strongly at Purgatory Golf Club this weekend for the Ken Partridge Invitational hosted by the University of Indianapolis in Noblesville, Indiana. 

The tournament will be the last before the G-MAC tournament on April 12 and the NCAA regional tournament at the end of the month.

“It’s great competition, and teams we’re going to have to beat sooner or later,” head coach Matt Thompson said. “A good start can set ourselves up well for the rest of the year.”

So far, the Chargers are ranked toward the top of the 11 teams in the Midwest region. The top eight teams earn a spot to play at the regional tournament in St. Louis, Missouri.

The winner of the G-MAC tournament next week will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA regional, and that Thompson said has been their goal all along.

“One of our goals is to win G-MACs, so obviously we’re getting ready for that as best we can,” Thompson said. “I think we have a good chance to win that. A conference title is always nice.”

The host course of this week’s tournament, Purgatory Golf Club, is one of the more difficult courses on the rotation for the Chargers, senior George Roberts said. It’s length, measuring 7,754 yards, poses a challenge to even the longest hitters.

“It’s long, it’s firm, it’s definitely one of the hardest courses we play when the wind gets up,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of opportunities, but you’ve got to hit it well.”

Roberts said that on top of shot placement, the team’s success will hinge on its putting ability.

“The best rounds we’ve played this year are ones we’ve putted well,” Roberts said. “Hopefully we can hole some putts and stay patient out there.”

Sophomore Josh Davenport said the aspect of the game Purgatory requires to play well is precisely what sets the Chargers apart from the field: ball striking. 

“Purgatory should suit us because we hit the ball better than most teams and that’s a premium at this place,” Davenport said. “We’re not typically the greatest putters, but if we can combine putting with our ball striking, teams are going to struggle to hang with us.”

Either way, the Chargers are looking to finish in the top half of the leaderboard this week to ensure a NCAA regional berth. From there, the real test will begin when the Chargers match up against the field that will be competing this week at Purgatory Golf Club.

“If we don’t play great this week, it’s not the be-all end-all,” Roberts said, “but I definitely think we’ve got it in us to beat them at least once or twice, definitely having the ability to beat them twice.”