Golf does more than win in New Orleans

The USD men’s golf team continued their stellar performance last week by capturing the All State Sugar Bowl Mardi Gras Invitational. The Toreros received seven votes for the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Top 25 poll for their exceptional play in this tournament, along with the previous two tournaments.
The Invitational consisted of teams from all over the nation, the most notable competition coming from the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. The Wolfpack was ranked 24th in the country coming into the tournament.
USD shot a five-over par 293 to take the team title in New Orleans, a noticeably different environment than the Toreros are used to.
“They needed to learn to adjust to the conditions, such as the ball not going as far in the cold,” USD head coach Tim Mickelson said. “It was just a great week.”
The Toreros definitely adjusted to the different conditions, displaying their strength and taking control in the final round. NC State held a one-stroke lead coming into the final day of the tournament, but USD came on strong and handed the Wolfpack a five-stroke loss and a three-stroke loss overall.
Sophomore Alex Ching took home the individual medalist honors, which is the individual first place championship in the entire tournament. Ching finished six strokes ahead of the second place finisher, NC State’s Brad Revell by starting the tournament with a first round 64 and finishing it with a solid 69 in the final round. 
“Alex’s 64 was the most impressive round I have ever seen since getting into coaching,” Coach Mickelson said.
Junior Scott Bruce shot a final round 71 for the Toreros and finished in eighth place overall. Junior Jason Shano tied for 21st overall, and juniors Gunner Wiebe and Ben Murray, finished in 31st and 33rd for the Toreros, respectively.
The Toreros also worked with Habitat for Humanity while on the trip, laying the entire floor for the house they worked on. They worked with the East St. Tammany chapter of Habitat for Humanity in Slidell, La. This area was near Lake Pontchartrain, the lake that overflowed into New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Even though the area was five miles from the lake, it was under four to five feet of standing water after Hurricane Katrina.
The USD golf team has won four of its last five team events, but has a very tough road ahead of them. They are currently competing in the USC Collegiate Invitational against seven teams ranked in the top 25 nationally.
“We feel that we have been completely overlooked by those who follow college golf closely,” Coach Mickelson said. The Toreros look to change this perspective with a win at the USC Collegiate Invitational.