IHCC opens season at Lindenwood Invite
March 17 – ST. CHARLES, Mo. – It took me a day to warm up.
That might best describe the experience of the first meeting of the spring season for the Indian Hills men’s golf team. Brutally cold conditions awaited the Warriors on Monday as they hit the 2023 Missouri Bluffs Golf Course for the first round of the Lindenwood Invitational.
Temperatures improved by more than 10 degrees on Tuesday before the second round. It was even warmer on the course for Jose Miguel Ramirez, who shot past 37 other players in the final 18 holes and ended the tournament with a 65-place finish in a tie for third overall with a par total of two rounds of three survived 145.
“My short game was really the big difference for me,” said Ramirez. “The conditions were also very different. Everything felt good for the final round compared to Monday.”
As a team, 10th place Indian Hills finished third in their spring season debut. After honing a 303 Monday at Missouri Bluffs, the Warriors battled through the first nine holes of Tuesday’s final round against defending NJCAA champion Hutchinson before falling to the back nine, allowing Lindenwood to take second place when the Warriors ended with a 306. overall a 41-over-par team out of a total of 609.
“It was good to get out and get our first tournament of the spring on the books,” said Michael Wetrich, Indian Hills’ head men’s golf coach. “It was really cold at times during the tournament, but the boys persevered and kept fighting. To see Jose go out and shoot the low round of the tournament is great. It is very encouraging as we move further into spring.”
Ramirez, who played as a singles player throughout the tournament, got things going on the back nine after teeing off his final round with a par on the 17th. Ramirez played the par 5 18th hole, hitting the green with two shots and rolling in an eagle putt before doing the same on the first hole and immediately moving from the par 9 over 80 after an opening round to 5 over for the green Competition.
“If you can line up two eagles in a row, I could really catch fire,” Ramirez said. “I just had to keep going and finish with a good result.”
Ramirez scored just two over par with birdies on the fourth, sixth, ninth and tenth holes. After suffering a bogey on par-3 11, Ramirez opted for pars on each of the last five holes, including a great save on the final 16. Catch with an approach shot to the green on a ball that was on the edge of fairway sand.
“I had a good feeling throughout the day, especially after dealing with cold and windy conditions on the first lap,” said Ramirez. “It gives me a good feeling for the rest of the season.”
Alongside Ramirez in the top 10 of the spring opening tournament for the Warriors was Mitch Revie, who cracked the top 10 simply by completing a round without excessive errors. While other golfers struggled with bad breaks and tricky courses, Revie countered five bogeys with birdies on the first two, 18th and eighth holes to bring home 148 overall for sixth over par over two days alone on the eighth Place.
“I was pretty happy with a 72, but there were still a lot of putts out there,” Revie said. “The greens are lightning fast compared to what we’re used to. I probably had three out of four three-putts. These greens are huge and it was difficult to get accurate distances. My Golf is definitely here. We didn’t play our best, but there were definitely some things we didn’t take into account.”
Taimur Malik, who finished in the top 5 for the Warriors, failed to follow a birdie on the 10th hole that included a nice approach shot to the green that ended with four bogeys and a triple bogey on the par 3 finish on the 12th hole in a tie for 20th overall with a total score of 10 over par over two rounds of 152. Edouard Cereto was 25th with a 12 over par score of 154 over two rounds, Gaspar Glaudas had a total score of 13 over par of 155 Shinju Aoki ended up a tie in 26th place, Shinju Aoki posted a two-round 16-over-par total of 158 for 38th place, while Jas Sohal finished with a 17-over-par total of 159 finished 41st overall with a draw.
“We’ve only played outside twice before this tournament, so it’s pretty impressive to see the off-season work pay off for someone like Jose early in the season,” said Wetrich. “We have to go toe-to-toe with Hutchinson for 18 holes. They are the team we are all following at the moment. I’m really encouraged that our guys are playing like this and we’re going to keep getting better. “
Indian Hills will return to the course at the Butler Spring Invitational. The two-day tournament at the Highland Country Club in Indianapolis begins Monday, March 27th.
