The men’s golf team finished fifth out of 10 teams at the Panther Invitational in Augusta, Michigan over the weekend, with senior Darragh Monaghan tying for third individually.

“I don’t think there’s any way to describe it but disappointing,” said head coach Mike Thompson. “Everyone felt like we had a chance to go in there and win a tournament. It just did not go that way.”

The Chargers carded a 308-298 for a total of 606. Monaghan performed best out of all the Chargers, shooting a 74 and an even-par 71 to finish 145. He said he still wasn’t satisfied with his performance.

“It was a bit of a bittersweet ending,” Monaghan said. “I had a feeling of where I was on the leaderboard, and then just had a bit of a sloppy ending which left a bitter taste in my mouth afterward.”

Monaghan said the cold and windy conditions affected his performance on the first day, but that it felt like he was playing golf in England, where he grew up.

“It kind of felt like home,” Monaghan said. “It felt like I was playing golf at Christmas time. It didn’t really faze me. I actually kind of enjoyed it. It’s just fun.”

Thompson said Monaghan is anxious to compete again next week after coming up short with second and third place finishes this season.

“He’s been playing some really good golf,” Thompson said. “He’s knocking on the door of an individual title and I’m sure that keeps him hungry.”

Junior Will Verduzco said the team knows they are able to perform well.

“I think collectively as a team, we haven’t put together good team scores in the rounds,” Verduzco said. “That’s just one of the disappointing parts – knowing everybody’s capable of getting those good rounds together, and then just not doing it collectively.”

Thompson said he is trying to help players diagnose flaws in their game to improve their performance.

“As a coach with more of a bird’s eye view, I can figure out where guys need to work,” Thompson said. “I need to do a better job of relaying that to the guys so that we can diagnose the problem, fix the problem, and get ready for the next event.”

The team will travel southeast to Hickory, North Carolina for their last tournament of the season, the Lenoir-Rhyne Fall Invite at Lake Hickory Country Club. Monaghan said he is expecting good competition as the team heads south.

“I would assume they’re going to be pretty competitive,” Monaghan said. “I think it’s going to be good for us to compete against some good teams.”

Verduzco said the team will be ready to compete in North Carolina.

“We’ve got to just finish strong,” Verduzco said. “As the last tournament of the fall, it will set the tone for the spring.”