CLEVELAND – The Northwest Mississippi Community College men's golf team took to on a big test this week, traveling to Delta State University's W. Derrall Foreman Invitational at the Cleveland Country Club, playing 54 holes in two days in a grueling test for the squad.
"Division I and Division II you play 36 holes on day one and day two you play 18, and I thought yesterday we showed moments of brilliance but also had some head scratching moments, but I was proud of how we adjusted," Head Coach Adam Payne said. "We had some adversity to start Tuesday because of some thunderstorms that had move through and I thought they did a great job of playing like they are capable of in adverse conditions on a course that was really wet, so I was proud."
The team closed the tournament with their best round of the three on the way to a 64-over team score with rounds of 310, 318, and 300 to finish in eighth place among the eleven-team field and taking the second spot out of the four two-year schools who were competing.
Northwest saw several strong individual performances but was paced but Braden Beverage who finished with 12-over across the three rounds, closing out the tournament with an even 72 on his final 18 which included six birdies. Beverage was a bogey on the final hole away from finishing under par for the round.
"I thought Braden played well all three rounds and he's played well all year," Payne said. "The difference in today's round and some of the earlier rounds he's had this year is decision making. I was proud of his performance and thought he did a great job just managing shot for shot and not getting too carried away in the moment."
His first day, which featured consistency, going seven-over on the first 18 with the only blemish being a quadruple-bogey on the sixth hole, and five-over on his second 18 for the best round of the team. His consistency through the tournament earned him a tie for 15th place in the field of 56 golfers.
Artharv Sharma also had a great close to the tournament on his final 18, going one-over while carding 12 pars and an eagle on the 507-yard par five sixth hole to finish in a tie for 33rd in the field.
His opening day began with a good round that was only hurt by three holes where he went double bogey or higher in a five-hole stretch to open the tournament, but he countered with three birdies to post a six-over. Unfortunately, his second 18 on the day was more of a struggle with a pair of 41's giving him a 10-over round and.
A pair of Rangers finished tied for 42nd at 23-over four the tournament with Cole Elander and Logan Drumwright sharing the spot.
Elander had the best start to the tournament for any Ranger, going three-over on his first 18 thanks to 14 pars but his second round was a tougher experience on the course as he carded a 13-over 85. He did rally back to shoot a 79 on the final 18 to bounce back.
Drumwright, who was playing as an independent, was the most consistent of the Rangers in the tournament. The opening day's 36 holes saw the sophomore finish with a pair of 80's and he had three birdies on day two to card a 79 for his best round at seven-over.
Caeser Ingendorf had the toughest start to the tournament for the Rangers after his first round went south after he ran into trouble on the eleventh and twelfth holes, going seven-over on the pair and despite a pair of birdies on the final five holes of his day, he was 14-over going into the afternoon's round.
The freshman from Germany improved on his second 18 but still had four holes where he shot double-bogey or higher and went into the final day at 23-over. He showed a good mental game in his final round, posting a 76 for his best round of the tournament and moving up in the field thanks to 13 pars and a birdie to go four-over and post a 27-over across the 54-hole tournament, finishing in a tie for 47th.
"Caeser didn't hit it great today, but he made some clutch putts coming down the stretch so a lot to build on," Payne said.
Logan Masterson brought up the back end of the final scores for Northwest but despite a 16-over round on the final day, the sophomore had one of the better first days for Northwest.
Masterson had six birdies on the opening 18 holes for a six-over which was the second-best score of the round for the Rangers along with Sharma. He doubled down with a second six-over round in the afternoon that included an eagle on the 517-yard eleventh and only had a nine on his second to last hole spoil what was on track to be his best round of the season.
"I thought Landon did well yesterday when we needed him when we weren't playing well on the top end," Payne said.
He finished in 51st in the field but his opening day rounds were important in keeping the team score competitive.
Northwest will have the week off to prepare for their final tournament of the fall when they head to the Laurel Country Club in Ellisville for the Jones College Invitational on November 10th and 11th.
"I still think we have yet to show our hand all at once with the talent we have. All in all, I was proud of the guy's effort," Payne said of the team going into the final week of the year. "I think we need to be a little stronger mentally and we end on a tough golf course and so we have a few weeks to work on some things before finishing on a tough challenge."
More information on that tournament and on the Rangers full schedule can be found at nwccrangers.com or by following along on Ranger social media accounts.
