Junior Filippo Reale winds up for a drive during practice. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department 

Three true freshmen led the Hillsdale men’s golf team to its first tournament win since 2019, edging out division rivals Tiffin University and Ferris State University to start the season.

The Chargers shot 885 over 54 holes of golf to claim victory at the Malone-Glenmoor Classic in Glenmoor, Ohio. The team’s best performances came from its three true freshmen — Oliver Marshall, Ryan O’Rourke, and Robert Thompson — who each carded a four-over-par 220 score.

“Going into this tournament looking at the teams’ scores from last year, I wasn’t very optimistic that we were going to win,” O’Rourke said. “I kind of went in thinking ‘I’m just going to go play,’ and that’s what I did. I didn’t think about winning until I finished the last hole of the last round.”

The last time the men’s golf team brought home a tournament win was April 2019, when the team won the Music City Invite near Nashville, Tennessee. This week’s victory was the team’s first under head coach Matt Thompson, who has coached the team since February 2020.

“It was a tough year last year, and I think this shows we’re headed in the right direction,” Thompson said. “I think we’re doing things the right way. We have to learn how to lose first before we can figure out how to win.”

The tournament was each of the freshmen’s first experience with collegiate competition. Marshall — who shot 75-75-70 — said it was his first time playing 36 holes on the first day of a tournament and 18 the next, the collegiate-norm. He said he didn’t think he played to his full potential in the tournament.

“Tee-to-green, I probably hit the ball the best of my entire career and then probably had the worst putting, and I ended up with not awful scores but with so much potential,” Marshall said. “After the round, I talked with Coach Thompson and we fixed a couple of things and I putted better the next day and had a much better score.”

Thompson said he appreciated the stronger team dynamic in collegiate golf compared to the high school level.

“In high school golf, you don’t really see your teammates a lot,” Thompson said. “You don’t really get to know them that well, unless you play at the same course or if you’re in classes with them. But here, everyone’s always together because you’re on campus together.”

O’Rourke, a Detroit-area native who scored 72-71-77, said he played both hockey and golf until middle school, when he chose the green over the ice. He said the camaraderie in collegiate golf reminded him of his hockey years.

“It’s bigger than a hockey game, but it feels the same,” O’Rourke said. “I hadn’t felt that for a while. Winning as a team is so much better than just winning by myself.”

Thompson said his love for the sport began around age two, when he pointed out a plastic set of golf clubs to his parents while walking through Walmart.

“I wanted it so they got it for me,” Thompson said. “That’s how I got into golf.”

He said he hasn’t stopped playing since he began competing in tournaments at age five.

In this week’s tournament, Thompson’s scores dropped lower with each round, carding 78-73-69.

Sophomore Max Burns shot a 225, five strokes from his teammates. Senior Carson Stohler put up a 235.

The team’s performance follows its runner-up finish last season at the same course, the Glenmoor Country Club. Coach Thompson said he thought the course was similar to the course in Jackson, Michigan, the team practices on.

“The greens are fast, the course is in really good shape,” coach Thompson said. “So I think it doesn’t look unlike what the guys are used to playing on, and so I think we have some kind of comfortability there.”

Junior Filippo Reale, who competed as an individual apart from the 5-man lineup, said the team must stay focused.

“Huge congratulations to the freshmen,” Reale said. “Winning is very hard, but to do it without much experience in college golf is even more impressive. Now we have to keep the foot on the gas pedal.”

The Chargers will travel to Tiffin, Ohio, for the Kyle Ryman Invitational Oct. 2-3 for their second tournament of the season.

“It’s nice having a couple of weeks for everybody to get their schoolwork taken care of first,” coach Thompson said. “We can regroup and celebrate the win but then get back to work.”