Kingsmen Golf Ranked No. 1 in Nation

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Competing on the national stage is nothing new for the Cal Lutheran men’s golf team. The Kingsmen finished 2011-12 ranked No. 19, but after a 2012-13 opening weekend title at the Embry-Riddle Invitational CLU has jumped into the Golfstat No. 1 spot in the nation, a position they have never held in the history of the program.

Over the weekend Chad Kimmelshue, Bobby Griffin, Mikey McGinn, Barret McGinnis and Parker Colvin competed for the Kingsmen, recording a 54-hole school record 876, defeating host Embry-Riddle and SCIAC rival No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Also breaking into the top-10 in the poll is No. 8 Redlands. The University of La Verne is a potential top-10 threat as well, currently ranked No. 12.

Cal Lutheran was in the top-10 last year, being ranked as high as No. 8.

With a squad full of depth and the bitterness of defeat from last year, the Kingsmen return eager in 2012-13.

“Going to Nationals last year gave our team a taste of what it takes to compete at a high level,” head coach Jeff Lindgren shared. “They were disappointed with the results at Nationals and really worked hard over the summer to re-dedicate their efforts to improving, which has certainly showed off so far. They are excited to play well and they now see they can compete; they are not afraid to go out there.”

Over the weekend each member of the Kingsmen contributed at least one scoring round, a testament to the depth of the team this year.

“We have five to six guys who are consistently shooting even par,” Lindgren noted. “It is a very different team [than last year] because of the depth. It is a huge deal to have so many solid players. It will play dividends.”

Cal Lutheran will round out the fall portion of their schedule next week on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 8-9 when they travel to the Oglethorpe Invitational in Flowery Branch, Ga.

It will be a re-match of sorts for CLU as they will face reigning National Champion and host Oglethorpe in their third trip to the tournament.

“We are the only SCIAC team traveling and it will be a great opportunity for our guys to play against some great competition from Division III out of our region,” Lindgren went on, “It will really give them an idea of where they stand across the country.”

Teams will play the Royal Lakes Golf Course, which Lindgren described as a great course and overall a great tournament. Golfers are set to tee off at 8:00 a.m. each day.