Elon men’s golf placed second at its home tournament — the Elon Phoenix Invitational — after two days of competition Oct. 12 and 13. Seventeen teams competed at the tournament, including conference rivals Campbell University and the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. The Phoenix won the tournament last season.
Elon jumped to a quick team lead in the first round, shooting 14-under-par, thanks to a stellar performance from redshirt senior Landon Durham — who placed first in the tournament individually last season.
The first round was defined by dominant back nine holes. Elon shot a collective 10-under-par, including six birdies from sophomore Dylan Lewis.
Head coach Don Hill said it’s the best opening round he’s seen his team play.
“We got off to the start we really wanted to,” Hill said. “Most everybody was under par, and the ones that didn't get off to a higher start, meaning they weren't under par, were still hitting good golf shots and putting them in the right spot.”
The second round was more of the same, thanks to another late surge from the team on the back nine.
Lewis birdied on three of the last four holes, jumping to a team-leading 6-under-par through 36.
The first two rounds were a full-circle moment for Lewis, who competed as an individual at last year’s Phoenix Invitational. One year later, he was the leading golfer on the team.
“He's the hardest-working kid we have on the team,” Hill said. “It's not a talent change. It's not like he started working harder or smarter or better. It really is just a matter of being more comfortable in his own skin in the college golf world, knowing that he can do it. He's a pleasure to coach.”
Senior Jack Wieler and sophomore William Carr also eagled on the 17th hole, helping Elon jump ahead of Campbell University for the lead.
Despite the overall success in the first two rounds, Hill said Elon’s dominance on the back nine holes was probably covering up greater mistakes.
“It might have put some lipstick on the pig there, that we didn't really play the best we could,” Hill said. “You play your last four holes 12 under, and it just covers up some mistakes and some underlying things, that deficiencies that we have right now that we've got to figure out a way to work through and get better at.”
Those deficiencies surfaced as the team entered the third round.
After jumping to 31-under-par in the opening nine holes, Elon held a six-shot lead over Campbell University, who was in second place.
The back nine, the Phoenix's strength throughout the tournament, suddenly became a breeding ground for mental errors. Hill said a few missed putts and bunkers on the 13th to 15th holes started to unravel Elon’s success.
The Phoenix then lost three more shots on hole 16. It showed on the faces of Elon’s golfers, according to Hill.
“The first round we played really well, and we've done that this year, just probably to be a little bit too honest, but it's been a little bit of our M.O,” Hill said. “We tend to deviate a bit from our game plan if we get a little frustrated, and golf’s a frustrating sport. And so having the maturity to fight through some of those times, because there are ebbs and flows.”
Elon, who led for the majority of the tournament, fell to a second-place finish. Lewis and Carr tied for a team lead at 9-under-par and tied for eighth best individually in the competition.
The team is farther under par this year compared to last season through four tournaments, but has yet to find a tournament victory. Hill said the team will enter the winter break ready to improve and return more composed for the spring season.
“We have a super talented team that believes, that has a ton of self-belief, but we seem to make things really hard on ourselves at times too,” Hill said. “We’ve just got to clean up some of that stuff.”
The Phoenix next tournament will be at the Sea Best Invitational on Feb. 1 in Atlantic Beach, Florida.