Trailblazers Golf takes fourth at Rend Lake Fall Invitational

INA, Ill. – The Fall 2022 VU Golf season continues to pick up steam as the Trailblazers took part in their second tournament of the year Tuesday at the Rend Lake College Fall Invitational at Rend Lake Golf Course in Ina, Ill.

VU battled in the one-day, 36-hole tournament to finish fourth as a team with a team score of 627.

Vincennes was led on the links by sophomore Paxton Schwomeyer (Oakland City, Ind.) who shot a very consistent 152 for the tournament, hitting a 76 in each round to place himself in a tie for fifth on the leaderboard.

"Paxton played consistently," VU Hall of Fame Golf Coach Dennis Chattin said. "He still hasn't played as well as he can, because he is really a strong player and is capable of winning these types of tournaments. He has been consistent so far and I think will continue to be very consistent."

The next VU low-man was freshman Preston Broce (Indianapolis, Ind.), who finished with a first round 77, second round 79 for a tournament score of 156 and a tie for 12th place.

Sophomore Luke VanDeventer (Columbus, Ind.) was the third scorer for VU, shooting a 76 in the opening round, and a final round 81 to tie for 15th.

"I told our guys after the first round, we were 12 shots behind the leaders, which is three shots a person and we had two guys that had really rough starts," Chattin added. "Preston started his day with a double and a triple bogey and still came back to shoot a 77 for the round. Luke VanDeventer also started four-over after the first three holes and got it back to even par and let it slip again toward the end of the round. But he played well."

Sophomore Sam Stewart (Floyds Knobs, Ind.) finished fourth for VU, with a pair of 81's good for a tie of 21st on the leaderboard.

The Trailblazers were rounded out by fifth-man Caleb Maris (Terre Haute, Ind.) who shot an 88 and an 89 in his two rounds, placing him 31st on the board.

Vincennes as a team shot 310 in the opening round and were just 12 shots back from the leaders after 18 holes in third place.

VU followed up with a 317 in the second round, which slid the Blazers back to fourth.

"Three shots a man is really no big deal," Chattin said. "And particularly with how we did there, we would have been tied for first after the first round. I think we got a little physically tired in the second round. Dropping seven shots is not a problem. I just don't think we putted as well as we should have."

"Those were the biggest greens we will play all year, by far," Chattin added. "That's one of the reasons why I really wanted a practice round, which we did, because we are not used to that length of approach putts. Normally when you are that far away, you are chipping because you are off the green. I stepped one of the greens off and it was 45 yards wide, not feet, yards. Another green was 48 yards deep. So you could have a 50 or 60 foot putt and our guys are just not accustom to doing that, so it makes it really easy to three-putt. It was different for us, but the story is, everyone plays the same golf course."

"I think it is a definite home course advantage for Rend Lake and we were only two shots back of them in the second round," Chattin said. "I still think that we are better than we have scored so far. But we are headed in the right direction off of our last tournament and we will see in our next tournament because we won't have any excuses. This is the course that we play quite a bit and practice at some."

VU freshman Aaron Brink (Nashville, Ill.) also made the trip for the Blue and Gold, playing in the tournament as an individual and shooting an opening round 81, before making the largest improvement from first to second rounds by a VU golfer with a final round 76. Brink tied for 15th on the leaderboard.

The Trailblazers will now look to regroup and prepare for this weekend as VU will host the VU Fall Invitational Saturday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11 at Country Oaks Golf Course in Montgomery, Ind.

"This tournament is an opportunity for all 11 of our guys to get to play," Chattin said. "I've had a couple of players that are right on the cusp of qualifying for tournaments that didn't make it that have shot some really low rounds in practice. One of the things I'm looking forward to this weekend is for them to get the opportunity to play in a college tournament, a college length tournament, which will be really good experience for them."

"We've got a large field this weekend, larger than we usually have coming in," Chattin added. "There are 71 players in the tournament, nine teams and three four-year schools playing in the tournament. So, it will be a good test. If you can play at the top of this tournament, you've really played well. So far everything looks good heading into this weekend, the only bad thing is that there is rain in the forecast."

TEAM RESULTS

John A. Logan – 298, 301 – 599

Rend Lake – 298, 315 – 613

Mineral Area – 312, 304 – 616

VINCENNES – 310, 317 – 627

Lincoln Trail – 329, 331 – 660

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Paxton Schwomeyer (T5) – 76, 76 – 152

Preston Broce (T12) – 77, 79 – 156

Aaron Brink (T15) – 81, 76 – 157 *As Individual

Luke VanDeventer (T15) – 76, 81 – 157

Sam Stewart (T21) – 81, 81 – 162

Caleb Maris (31) – 88, 89 – 177