Jaguar men's golf finishes 10th at Windon Memorial in Chicago

By Joshua Picklesimer | Sports writer

The Augusta University men’s golf team might have been in the Windy City this week, but the performance of freshman Behn Heyns for AU was rock solid.

Heyns finished tied for 18th in medalist play, as the AU men finished 10th in the Windon Memorial at the Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Ill.

The Jaguars on Tuesday, Sept. 27, finished the 54-hole collegiate tournament, with Heyns leading the way with a 213 total, just 3 over par on the par-70, 6,885-yard course.

Host Northwestern was the team winner, nine shots clear of second-place Arkansas-Little Rock. Kent State finished third.

Heyns, the first-year player, shot a team-best 70 in the opening round. He then shot 71 and 72 in the final two rounds.

“Individually, Behn played some really nice golf, securing an 18th-place finish in just his second collegiate event,” said first-year AU Coach Steven Paine. “Behn hails from Middleberg, South Africa, and was a late add to the 2022 class. He has a very well-rounded game and is a player we are expecting a lot from this season.”

Other Jaguar golfers that played at the invitational were junior Dawson Booth, who shot 72 in his last round and tied for 33rd overall individually. Freshman Ian Pienaar tied for 59th overall, freshman Dean Wilken tied for 65th, and junior Wilhelm C. Berg von Linde was 78th.

Paine was proud of his team’s play in the Illinois tournament.

“I thought the guys did a great job this week in some really tough conditions,” Paine said. “We had a young squad on the road, with three freshman and two juniors, and they showed great maturity, really buying into what we have been coaching. We have seen great progress from this group in just a short period of time, and we look forward to watching them develop further the rest of the year.” 

Robbie Huggins of North Florida won the individual title with a 6-under-par 204. That was one shot better than Jansen Smith of UALR. Jack Tanner of Memphis with third at 207.

Up next for AU is the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate on Oct. 9-11. In the final event of the fall, the Jaguars will play in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

Contact Joshua Picklesimer at JPICKLESIMER@augusta.edu.