After a successful fall in which the Memphis men’s golf team won two tournament titles and had great individual play, second-year coach Blake Smart and his team hope to carry their momentum into the spring schedule.
The Tigers managed to win both the Memphis Intercollegiate Title and the Pinetree Intercollegiate Title, as well as finish second at the WKU Kenny Perry Invitational this past fall. The Tigers are now ranked 38th in the nation, according to the Golfstat team rankings.
Smart said his team isn’t taking its success for granted and wants them to value its accomplishments.
“Ranking wise it was one of the most successful semesters we have had here, so I think having an appreciation for that is important, and understanding that we are talented,” he said.
Junior Lars van Meijel and senior Thomas Perrot led Memphis through the fall schedule. Both players achieved their first individual tournament title, and finished sixth or better in all four fall tournaments.
Van Meijel, a Netherlands native, ranks as the No. 1 European player in the nation at the collegiate level, according to the inaugural Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings. The junior is also ranked as the 10th best overall player by the Golfstat Cup Rankings.
The Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings lists Perrot as the third best European Player in the nation as well. The Paris, France, native comes in at 14th overall according to the Golfstat Cup Rankings.
Smart said his team relied heavily on van Meijel and Perrot throughout the fall, and hopes the team can add depth to go along with the star tandem moving forward.
“It was very important for the back half of the lineup to step up and improve,” Smart said. “We really rode Thomas and Lars in the fall, so if we can add some depth to that one, two punch we will be a potentially very good team.”
Although van Meijel and Perrot can certainly take the Tigers a long way this spring, Smart said the Tigers will need a total team effort if they are going to reach the level of play they hope to achieve.
“Of course you want everyone to be continually getting better, both for this year and the future,” he said. “Individually, I wouldn’t say it needs to be one person or the other, but just a collective push by everyone.”
Smart said the expectations for this spring will be improving and executing the smaller aspects of the game.
“I think the expectation is to improve in all areas, from game, to time management, to controlling the controllables and not worrying too much about outside factors,” he said. “We have put a big emphasis on taking care of the small things so that big things have room to happen.”
The Tigers will hit the course March 7, as they travel to Bluffton, South Carolina, to compete in the Colleton River Collegiate.
“Our spring schedule is stronger than our fall,” Smart said. “We will see some of the best teams in the country leading up to what I believe is a very strong American Conference Championship in May. I’m excited to get started and seeing where we are, and how we need to improve.”
The University of Memphis men's golf team hopes to build off its strong performance in the fall. Two keys to Tiger success will be coach Blake Smart (left) and Lars van Meijel (right).
