UVA Men’s Golf Coach Couldn’t Be Any Happier With Fantastic Start

Virginia’s new golf facility should give the Cavaliers a competitive edge

To note that Virginia men’s golf season is off to a good start would be an understatement.

The Cavaliers finished tied for second in last week’s Inverness Intercollegiate tournament in Ohio, with senior Thomas Walsh claiming the individual championship with a tournament record, 8-under 205 (54 holes).

That event followed UVa’s season-opening, seventh-place finish at the Capital Carpet Collegiate in Georgia, beating a couple of top 10 teams.

If that wasn’t enough to get veteran Wahoos coach Bowen Sargent excited, the soon-to-be opening of Virginia’s new golf facility (for men’s and women’s golf) certainly is, coupled with the complete renovation of Birdwood Golf Course.

On top of that, Walsh, the team’s bell cow, is No. 11 in Golfweek’s new Amateur World Rankings.

“I don’t see how any other coach in the country could be happier right now,” Sargent said. “To see the building pop up out of the ground this summer, and coming to fruition, seeing the grand opening around the corner, we’re awfully excited. The guys (and gals) are champing at the bit to get into the building and use it.”

Sargent has also been blown away by the progress at Birdwood, where golf course architect Davis Love’s crew have cleared an amazing amount of land in a short span on the property’s “back 80.”

“You can already see the alley ways for some of the holes,” Sargent said. “We’ve been sending recruits a lot of the pictures. A lot of kids are excited about it.”

Walsh is something for Virginia golf to be excited about as well. He had a string of four consecutive birdies on the back nine of his final round to bring the championship home at Inverness

He won the event by a whopping nine shots.

“Thomas had a good summer, winning the Porter Cup, shot a 62 in the last round at the Players, so a great back half of the summer,” Sargent said. “He wasn’t pleased with how he played in our opening tournament. He finished 16th in a really strong field. The first two rounds he played really solid. He’ll be a guy we’ll really lean on for sure.”

In that Capital Carpet Classic, the Cavaliers didn’t lose to any teams they shouldn’t have. UVa tied LSU, which was a preseason top 10, tied North Florida (a preseason top 20), but beat California and Florida, both top 10 teams. About the only teams that beat the Cavaliers were some of the nation’s top programs, including Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Auburn.

After that win, Sargent felt good to escape unscathed from that high-caliber event, knowing his team could play better, and it did at Inverness. UVa tied with San Francisco for second with a 19-over 871, seven strokes behind champion Tennessee.

Freshman Daniel Morgan, a Florida native, came out of the blocks strong in the opening tournament and continued to play well at Inverness.

“He’s very capable at this level, he’s proven that,” Sargent said of the rookie. “He wasn’t rattled. We have some things we can improve upon with him, but I think he’ll get better as the year goes on.”

Lynchburg sophomore Jimmie Massie will be leaned on this season, more so than a year ago. After a bit of a rocky start, he finished 28th at Inverness.

Andrew Orischak of Hilton Head, S.C., was 11th for Virginia at Inverness with a 6-over 219. Sargent said the team really needs him to play well and help lead the way for some of the younger players on the team.

Wei Wei Gao, Philippines, was 28th at Inverness, and junior Ashton Poole, Charlotte, was 58th.

“We’re seven deep, so I think we have decent depth this season,” Sargent said. “More depth than last year.”

The UVa coach was elated that former Cavalier All-American Denny McCarthy won the recent Web.com Tour Championship ($255,000), and earned his “Golden Ticket,” a full exemption for the PGA Tour. UVa will have several players on the Web.com Tour next season.

Off to a strong start, Virginia will return to action Oct. 12-14 at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate in Johnson City, Tenn.