Texas Tech men’s golf coach Greg Sands knows seventh place usually is not much to be excited about.
But considering the field in the Mauna Lani Invitational in Kohala Coast, Hawaii, seventh placed doesn’t sound so bad to the 10th-year Tech coach.
“We beat several teams in the Top 10,” said Sands, whose team competed in a tournament that boasted six squads in the Top 10. “We beat TCU, they were ranked seventh. We beat Southern Cal, UCLA, Florida State and we beat some really good teams.”
The No. 19 Red Raiders grabbed a top-10 finish in a 22-team field in the Mauna Lani Invitational, which started Wednesday and ended Friday.
Along with the teams Sands pointed out, Tech was matched up against other top-notch squads — most notably No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Stanford.
The Red Raiders carded rounds of 296, 298 and 287 for the seventh-place finish. The Cardinals took the top spot, shooting 2-over-par.
Two of the most noteworthy performers for Sands in the Mauna Lani Invitational were Jacob Simon and Tyler Weworski.
Sands said this was Simon’s first tournament at the Division I level. Simon entered this season as a redshirt freshman. He turned in rounds of 76,74 and 73 — the latter being his most solid round.
Weworski, also playing in his first tourney, dropped throughout the Invitational with a 76 and a 79 in the second and third rounds, respectively. But Weworski’s best round was his first, shooting a 74 on Wednesday.
Chris Ward and Nils Floren were the most solid for the Red Raiders last week.
Ward carded a 4-over 220 and Floren shot 3-over 219. Floren had the highest finish for a Red Raider individually at 19th place. Ward finished in 21st place.
The highlight of Ward’s rounds was the 2-under 70 he shot Friday. Floren had that score in the first round Wednesday, but followed it up Friday with a 72. Matt Smith was good for par Friday as well.
Sands said he expects the Red Raiders to climb the rankings a little bit after their performance in the Mauna Lani Invitational.
He also said playing against a tough field like the one in this tourney only prepares his players for tougher fields down the road.
“Anytime you get to play a team that is No. 1 in the country regardless if it’s in conference or not, its exciting,” Sands said. “We’ve had that opportunity a few times this year already.
“I think it makes these players understand that they can compete at a real high level.”
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