The Stetson University men's golf team will face one of its most difficult challenges of the year when the Hatters compete in the FGCU Classic at Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Naples.
 
The Jack Nicklaus designed course plays to a par of 72 over almost 7,400 yards, but will be set up to play 6,700 yards for the FGCU Classic. In two previous trips to play at Old Corkscrew, the Hatters posted scores of 42 and 80 over par. Only one team finished under par in the event either year.
 
"This event is all about the course," Hatters coach Larry Watson said. "If you try to get aggressive with Old Corkscrew, it is going to win. It is narrow, it is long and the shots into the greens are more difficult because they are from longer distance. The areas around the greens are difficult. You can't play this course scared. If we can go in there and shoot par, that would probably win the tournament. I'll take par right now and not even go."
 
Getting overly aggressive, and perhaps a little ahead of themselves, was what Watson said his team did their last time out, at the Donald Ross Invitational in North Carolina. The Hatters went into that event off two solid performances, but starting thinking about winning the tournament rather than focusing on one shot at a time.
 
"The boys and I talked about it and we had a plan," Watson said. "They admit that we got ahead of the plan at Donald Ross. They got to looking at the teams there and thinking they should win instead of just playing the golf course. The boys admitted that they started looking at their ranking instead of just playing golf. That is not hard to do."
 
The result was an eighth place finish in the event. That result came in part to lapses in concentration that included signing for a four on one par three that should have been a two, and failing to take relief on a ball in a ground under repair area, losing a stroke and distance by going back to the tee. Just those four shots meant four spots down the leaderboard.
 
Watson said that the stress all Stetson student-athletes face academically often has an impact on performance.
 
"This time if year, the boys are all stressed out over midterms," Watson said. "We have been through the hurricane, having to be on the road for seven days. Everyone is a little stressed out and they are getting tired. They are tired of playing every day, so this will be a mental check for us.
 
"This time of year everyone is a little stressed. We have midterms, it is near the end of the fall season, we have homecoming coming up and, as a player, you start to think 'it is almost over.' Every kid on this campus is overwhelmed academically right now. It doesn't matter if they are athletes or not. All the student-athletes have practice and competition on top of those academic stresses."
 
The 2016 version of the FGCU Classic will feature 16 teams. The highest ranked teams in the field are Eastern Kentucky (42) and UCF (44). Ohio (149), Stetson (158), South Dakota State (162) and Georgetown (181) all rank in the top 200 while the rest of the field ranks between 210 and 289.
 
Watson will take six players to compete in the event, with junior captain Chase Levesque joining with sophomores Tate Smith, Baylor Payne, Tyler Dierwechter and Jared Nicolls as well as freshman Chris Williard.
 
It was the freshman, Williard, who found the going most difficult at the Donald Ross event, posting a 22-over par 232 in the tournament. Watson said his youngest player has been struggling with his health throughout the fall, and that impacted him play.
 
"To be honest, the bout of adversity for Chris was because he was sick," Watson said. "He has been sick all year with a low-grade infection. Every time he seems to be getting better, he gets a little run down and it comes back on him. He couldn't even get out of bed last Sunday, so he didn't even play a practice round at Mimosa Hills.
 
"It was his first time to have to walk 36 holes, and he was sick. I didn't even look at what he shot that day because I knew he was sick. How he played that day was a testament to his character because he finished. A lot of kids would not have finished. He made it through 36 holes, and what he shot was not important."
 
After two weeks off from competition, the trip to Naples will likely be the last event of the fall for the Hatters' primary group. The only event left on the schedule is the tournament at Savannah State, and Watson plans to take four individuals to that event.
 
"I thought about taking a team, but the FAU event in the spring is still up in the air and may happen," Watson said. "It appears that, if that event does go on, it will be a two-day event instead of a three-day event. I am going to try to get Embry-Riddle for a match in the spring because it is good for both teams."
 
The FGCU event will open with 36 holes on play on Monday with a final 18 holes on Tuesday. Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament through GolfStat.com.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.