Back in tournament action this week after their between-seasons layoff, the Titan men's golfers look to pick up where they left off following a solid fall campaign.
They open up spring play on Friday at the Mission Inn Spring Fling, hosted by St. John's at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL.
Detroit played four fall tournaments and put Top 6 finishes into the books in all of them, with a runner-up effort at DePaul and third place at Illinois State the high water marks. They were also fifth at Michigan State and sixth at Georgetown.
Senior David Byrne (Essex, ON/Essex) will continue to lead the Titan charge. Byrne was either second or third at all four fall invitationals, and crafted a 71.6 stroke average along the way. He stood 59th nationally in GolfStat's early March men's golf individual rankings and is primed for another big spring after earning All-Horizon League honors in each of his first three years at UDM.
A pair of juniors, Jeff Clarridge (Barrie, ON/Bear Creek) and Britt Pronk (London, ON/St. Thomas Aquinas), will also see action this week in the three-day tournament, along with two freshmen. The young guns are Simon Reyers (Kingston, ON/Holy Cross), who played his way into the lineup for all four fall tournaments, and former Michigan All-Stater Sheldon Keyte (Portage, MI/Hackett).
“A lot of our success in the fall had to do with the way 'Byrnie' played. He's really motivated to go out with a bang, but this is a deep, solid team and everybody has the ability to make a major contribution this spring,” coach Mark Engel, in his 20th season at the helm, said. “That's what we're expecting. The guys have worked hard this winter conditioning, hitting balls, working on their putting strokes and their short games. They're on a mission to be ready to win another Horizon League Championship and they've been working hard the whole time we've been in Florida this week to get started in the right direction.”
-Detroit Titans-
