Van Wyk leads Jaguars' golf in final men's tourney of the fall

By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor

The Augusta University men’s golf team finished 12th at the Isleworth Collegiate in Windermere, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 19. 

AU’s final fall tournament was played at the Isleworth Country Club, a par-72, 7,544-yard course. 

Junior Alex van Wyk led the Jaguars with a 22nd-place finish, shooting 3-over par. Van wyk shot his best round on the second day of the tournament with a 1-under-par 71.

“It was a frustrating fall overall for us, and that somewhat continued in this tournament,” said AU Coach Jack O’Keefe. “CJ van Wyk had a strong finish shooting 70 in the final day. Alex played well finishing 22nd, even though he had a rough hole, shooting a triple bogey.”

AU freshman Gareth Steyn finished tied for 39th at 7 over par. Steyn shot 73 in the final round, with five birdies on the day. 

CJ van Wyk, another AU freshman and Alex’s brother, finished tied for 54th at 11 over par. He had a team-low 70 in the final round, with five birdies.

AU sophomores Dawson Booth and Hampus Wijkstrom were the last two Jaguars in the tournament. Booth finished 68th with a final-round 75, and Wijkstrom finished 70th. 

The Jaguars combined for a total score of 895 or 31 under par.  

“The biggest area for some of the young guys to improve is putting,” O’Keefe said. “We don’t capitalize on making those 6– to 15-foot putts, and the young guys have to get better in that area as well as the older guys. We really need to improve on our short game, course management and the mental aspect of the game, which are all fixable issues. I also need to recruit well; we have two recruits coming in and also will need to find others to sneak in and help us out.” 

Arizona State won the tournament overall at 11 under par. The Sun Devils finished two shots ahead of Illinois. The Illini’s Piercen Hunt finished on top of the leaderboard at 209, ahead of Johnny Travale for the University of Central Florida by a single shot.

The Jaguars will start up again in the spring at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C., on Jan. 24. 

Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.