Season Preview: Men’s Golf looking to carry over last year’s late-season success into 2022-23

By Wes Mayberry 

| 2022 Men's Golf Fall Schedule |

ADA — Coming off its best OAC Championships finish since 2016, the Ohio Northern men's golf team is looking to carry that momentum forward into the 2022-23 season under 10th-year head coach Chad Bucci.

"I'm super excited for this season," Bucci said. "I'm confident we're going to pick up right where we left off last year and be competitive in tournaments early on in the season."

The Polar Bears' third-place finish at the 2022 OACs was its best showing since placing second six years ago, and they closed their season with a 36-30-4 overall record. The team lost All-OAC honorees Andrew Slusher and Nolan Kimberly to graduation following the season but return two golfers who played in the 2022 conference tournament as part of a group of 16 lettermen.

Senior Josh Steyer (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) is the Polar Bears' top returning scorer after ranking third on the team last year with a 78.9-stroke average over 20 rounds and posting four top-10 finishes. The three-year letterman is also the team's best returning finisher from the 2022 OACs, where he placed 21st overall with a career-best 72-hole score of 309. He has a career average of 78.2 over 43.5 rounds, and he owns the 18th-best single-season average in program history with his 77.5 from his freshman year.

"Josh is the nucleus of this year's team, and I hope that his summer work will pay dividends for him on the course this season," Bucci said.

Fifth-year senior and four-year letterman Austin White (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) also returns from that 2022 OAC Championships squad, which tallied a 72-hole score of 1,211 that ranks second all-time at ONU. White shot a career-low 72-hole score of 325 to finish tied for 35th at the OACs last season and posted three top-10 finishes. He has an 84.1 average over 51.5 career rounds.

"You won't find anyone who works harder on his game than Austin does, and he has shown that work ethic ever since his first year here," Bucci said. "I hope his scoring will reflect all the hard work that he has put in."

Sophomores Andrew Briars (Maumee/Anthony Wayne) and Adam Trigg-Holdman (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) also return for 2022-23 after tying for the team lead with five top-10 finishes last season. They rank second and third, respectively, among top returning scorers from a year ago.

Briars posted a 79.3 average over 17.5 rounds last year and won Medalist honors with a 5-over par 77 to lead Northern over Olivet (Mich.) in a dual match. His career-low score is a 72.

"Andrew was a pleasant surprise last year, and he has a really good short game," Bucci said. "I wasn't sure what I was going to get out of him, and he scored a lot better than what I thought he would."

Trigg-Holdman also played well as a freshman last season, finishing with an 80.5 average over 19 rounds. His career-low score is a 76.

Other top returners include senior Dylan Morris (Bellevue/Margaretta) and sophomore David Walsh (Cincinnati/Moeller), who both matched White with three top-10 finishes in 2021-22.

Morris is a three-year letterman and two-time Academic All-OAC honoree who owns a career average of 85.1 over 30 rounds with a low of 76.

Walsh finished last season with an 81.5 average over 15.5 rounds. He shot a career-low 73 in the second round of the Bluffton Beaver Classic and finished with a career-best 36-hole score of 147 to win Medalist honors.

"Adam and David love nothing more than to compete at a high level, and that competitiveness got the best of them in some of the tournaments last year. But they are part of the group of sophomores and freshmen that are going to be on fire this year," Bucci said. "And Dylan has picked up right where he left off last season."

Senior Andrew Lyon (Ottawa Hills), a three-year letterman and two-year Academic All-OAC selection, is also back along with juniors Jacob Brooks (New Albany) and Garrett McCarthy (Alexandria/Newark Catholic), who were each named Academic All-OAC last season. They posted respective average scores of 84.2, 82.8 and 85.4 last season.

Other returning lettermen include seniors Garrett Allen (Zanesfield/Ben Logan), Sutton Bucci (Lewis Center/Olentangy), Matt Russo (Medina/Akron Bishop Hogan) and Bradon Wooldridge (Piketon) and sophomores Blake Michael (Fremont/St. Joseph Central Catholic), Ethan Ricketts (Belle Center/Ben Logan) and Noah Shaw (Port Clinton).

Graduate student Tanner Hurley (Wapakoneta/Waynesfield-Goshen) and 12 incoming freshmen round out the roster for 2022-23.

The team opens its 2022-23 schedule on Sept. 4-5 as it hosts the Polar Bear Classic at Colonial Golfers Club in Harrod.

Northern will then travel to play in the Trine (Ind.) Invitational at Zollner Golf Course in Angola, Ind., on Sept. 20.

The fall slate also includes the Region V Preview at Virtues Golf Club in Nashport on Oct. 3, the OAC Preview at River Greens Golf Course in West Lafayette on Oct. 8-9, the Lourdes Fall Invitational at Sylvania Country Club in Sylvania on Oct. 10, the Bluffton Fall Invitational at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Lima on Oct. 15-16 and the Berry (Ga.) Classic at Stoneridge Country Club in Rome, Ga., on Oct. 22-25.

The team's spring schedule will be released at a later date.