Young Schulz leads the pack

Freshman Stratton Schulz was the top Wolverine golfer at the Palouse Cougar Collegiate tournament in Pullman, Wash., Sept. 12-14.

Schulz shot rounds of 74-73-74 (221) at the par 72, 7,308 yard Palouse Ridge Golf Club. Juniors Nicholas Tarasiewicz and Andrew Carlin finished one stroke behind the young Schulz.

Coach Chris Curran was pleased with his teams overall effort on the difficult course where host, Washington State University, slaughtered the rest of the field.

When asked about his feelings on Schulz and his performance, Curran had some highly complimentary words for the advanced freshman.

“Stratton played great,” Curran said. “He was rock solid. He never gets frustrated and he takes care of business.”

Tarasiewicz blasted a 2-under 70 on the final round to bounce back after rounds one and two where he turned in scores of 75 and 77.

“Nick really played better than his scores reflected,” said Curran. “Just a few loose swings cost him strokes; he came back strong with the two under.”

The Wolverines will compete next at the Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo., along with fellow state schools Utah, Weber State and Utah State.

The par-72, 7,301-yard Eisenhower Golf Club-Blue Course will be just as big, if not a bigger challenge as the Palouse Ridge Golf Club. Playing golf at 6035 ft. in elevation over a rolling hills/mountain course could be cause for concern.

Curran emphasized the point that collegiate golfers play three rounds; 54 holes in less than 36 hours and at the college level carts are not used. He believes the team is prepared and is excited for the event.