Michigan State finishes second but still comes away a winner at Folds of Honor Collegiate
Grand Haven, Mich. Sometimes a loss is still a win. That was the case for the Michigan State golf team at the Folds Honor Collegiate golf tournament at American Dunes this week. While the Spartans are justifiably disappointed with their second-place finish at the 18-team, 54-hole event, after entering Wednesday’s championship round with a three-stroke lead, the Michigan State program is in a better place going forward than it was going into the event.
“This is our first event of the season as a team,” said Michigan State senior August Meekhof, who finished sixth in medal play at 1-over. “We didn’t have our best stuff and we were right there in contention. It shows you how good we actually are if we play solid. We played solid yesterday and gained a lot on the field. Today, we just didn’t really have it.”
Michigan State, like each of the teams participating in the Folds of Honor Collegiate golf tournament, experienced something bigger than themselves. Beyond being one of the premier golf courses in West Michigan, American Dunes is an impactful experience where golfers are immersed in the service and sacrifice of our nation’s military and first responders.
“Golf is hard, and you are going to lose shots, but let’s remember what this event is really about,” said Michigan State golf coach Casey Lubahn. “This event is about bettering our communities and having an impact on others. I think it was a wild success despite the outcome for the team. When we play against the best, we are going to have to be just a little bit better.”
For Meekhof, the 2023 Michigan Amateur champion, competing in Folds of Honor Collegiate is bigger than golf.
“It means a lot,” Meekhoff said. “My great grandfather on my mom’s side of the family was a sergeant in Word War II. He was a machine gun operator on a half-track until he got shot in the arm by a sniper. Then he went back home. But just hearing stories like that about people who served our country, it’s not about golf. Yeah, I want to play well, but this week is special to honor those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.”
Where it got away for Michigan State
Michigan State was tied for first place with Notre Dame at 8-over going into the 538-yard Par-5 18th hole. The Spartans needed three pars and birdie to win the event, which seemed likely given how well the team had performed at the 18th in the first two rounds. As a team, Michigan State had shot 6-under on the 18th hole in the first two rounds.
In the final round on Wednesday, however, Michigan State was even par.
“Considering how we started and where we were at, to get ourselves in position at the 18 tee, I think we are going to close it from there,” Lubahn said. “We probably tried a little too hard. We had two drives go right down the fairway, but we couldn’t go for the green because there was so much mud on the ball. That was a stinker, and then August got a bad bounce. That is usually a strength of ours, but today it didn’t work out. But that’s sports, and it’s a very hard golf course. It was an incredible challenge and they hung in there as long as they could, but just couldn’t execute when it mattered.”
Michigan State began Wednesday’s round with a three-stroke lead over South Carolina and Arizona. Those two teams finished fourth and fifth respectively. With a strong performance on the front nine Arkansas led for most of the day on Wednesday before Notre Dame surged into the lead with two birdies and an eagle at 18.
After Drew Hackett bogeyed 18, Michigan State needed a birdie from either Ashton McCulloch or Meekhof to pull even with Notre Dame. McCulloch hooked his drive into the woods and was forced to hit a punch shot into the fairway. He then hit a pin-high approach shot to give himself a 20-foot birdie putt, which he narrowly missed.
Meekhof hit a cut shot off the tee at the 18th and found himself in deep rough after a bad bounce. Unable to go for the green in two, Meekhof put his second shot in the fairway, and left himself a 30-foot putt after a mishitting a pitch shot from 70 yards out. To his credit, Meekhof made a good run at his long birdie putt, but came up just short.
Michigan State didn’t finish the way it wanted too, but the Spartans proved that they can compete with some of the top programs in college golf. As such, the Folds of Honor Collegiate should be seen as the starting point for a team with the collective talent to contend for other tournament titles and potentially even a Big Ten championship.
“I don’t think they were ready for playing at home, and I don’t think they were ready for the pressure and some of that comes on me,” Lubahn said. “When they settled in, they were playing as good as anyone that was here this week. When you look at the names in the field you realize we can beat anybody in the country.”
Michigan State brand is on the rise
Finishing second ahead of Florida State, Arkansas, Oregon State, Kentucky, and Kansas is nothing to be embarrassed about. And while Michigan State wasn’t perfect at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, finishing in the Top 5 as the host school of a tournament televised on the Golf Channel for three consecutive days is a big deal for Lubahn’s program
“It certainly accelerates the brand, and I am just so proud that Michigan State athletics is partnering with a lot of military things,” Lubahn said. “We have done a lot of things that have shown us to be a great partner and part of a great country. The golf program finally got to chip in there, which is cool. And then my phone has been going crazy because that’s nine hours of Golf Channel coverage for your team on there.”
Michigan State has had some solid teams over the years, and the Spartans have had some outstanding individual golfers. But the Spartans haven’t always had the team depth needed to play well collectively against elite programs in college golf. At the FOH Collegiate, Michigan State showed glimpses of outstanding team golf.
“We are good even when we are sloppy,” said Lubahn. “We were sloppy in two of these rounds and you can’t do that and beat the best teams in the country. But we can beat the best teams in the country, and that is clear. We have a lot of things to grow from this, and this going to be a very good year.”
Meekhof finished sixth overall at 1-over par after shooting a 2-over 73 in the championship round. For part of Wednesday’s round, the Michigan State senior was tied for the medal-play lead.
“He’s a stud,” Lubahn said. “I think August is symptomatic of the team, they are very good, but they are trying a little too hard to close the deal sometimes. You’ve got to just let it happen. But even when he is not at his best he is hanging in there.”
The same is true of McCulloch, who finished in 12th place at 3-over par for the tournament despite a three-hole stretch where he went triple bogey, bogey, bogey.
“Ashton hung after pretty much a disaster on 11 today,” Lubahn said. “Let’s just tight some things up and get confidence, spin it the other way. We didn’t play our best and had a chance to win. So, let’s go play our best and win next week.”
‘These five guys can go’
With Meekhof and McCulloch as its leaders, Michigan State has a strong team dynamic with talent behind them with Drew Hackett and Bradley Smithson, both Top 20 finishers at the FOH Collegiate. One of the most talented newcomers in the Big Ten, freshman Lorenzo Pinili flashed elite potential during his first tournament as a Spartan.
“These five guys can go,” Lubahn said. “Brad Smithson is a Michigan Open champion a few years back and he was barely in our line-up this week. Today, he was an absolute rockstar, a fifth-year senior stud down the stretch. All five of these guys can play and there’s a couple more at home that are going challenge them for their spots.”
Players believe that the best is yet to come for Michigan State.
“I am excited our team is pretty much the best that we’ve ever had,” Meekhof said. “We are super deep and everyone is trying to get better every day. Our coaching staff is the reason why I chose Michigan State.”
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