Kirkwood men's golf aims for national title

With a white K on their black hats, and eagles on their bags, the Kirkwood men's golf team will compete for the NJCAA Division II national title.

The tournament will be held Tuesday to Friday, in Plymouth, Ind. Kirkwood is coming off a regional championship, its 12th in 13 years, and is ranked No. 3 in the latest NJCAA Men's Golf Coaches Association Poll.

Coach Darren Pint said his team should be grateful to make the championships, but recognize they still have a tournament to play, and maybe even win.

'It's always a nice thing to be able to have a shot at it,' Pint said. 'Every year, you never know when you're going to be back, and you don't take that for granted.'

The Eagles have never won a national title as a team nor have they seen an individual take home the crown.

The Eagles are hoping that changes this week. They'll be led by co-regional champions Carson Whittington, a sophomore, and Jordan Even, a freshman and former Cedar Rapids Xavier prep.

Each golfer shot a 150 over the 2-day tournament. Teammate Louis Flynn finished second with a 151.

Kirkwood held just a two-stroke lead over Des Moines Area Community College at the end of the regional's first day, but exploded on the second to win by 24 strokes. Flynn and teammate Charlie Hartwig shot weekend-low scores of 72 to fly the Eagles to victory.

Riding the momentum of their regional victory, the Eagles said they are confident they'll have a good showing at the Swan Ridge Resort course.

'Stay focused, take it one hole at a time,' Even said. 'I think if we just don't look at the big picture — like winning the national title — just one hole at a time, have the right mind-set, I think we'll be in good shape.'

In a 4-day, no cut tournament like the championships, add in the difficulty of the golf course, and as cliche as the 1-hole-at-a-time approach may be, it may be the best for the Eagles.

'There's some demanding tee shots, there's some par threes that are a really big test day-in and day-out,' Pint said. 'You've got to be able to hole some putts. Some of the greens are pretty undulated, and there's some pin positions that can be pretty tricky. Shot after shot you've got to be locked in.'

While Pint provides the formula to win almost any golf tournament, it's an approach that's worked for the team this season, as they matched a school record with eight victories.

The mental approach was echoed by Even and Whittington, the team's No. 1 player.

Standing in the Eagles way are South Mountain Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Tyler Junior College, and Meridian Community College. South Mountain Community College is the defending champion, and sophomore Connor Klein returns to defend his title from a year ago.

Whitting has his sights set on a national title.

'I'd like to win it,' Whittington said. 'I don't want to settle for anything less than that.'

Pint, in his 20th season, said this team could compete with some of his best.

'There's always a chance,' Pint said. 'You've got to play four really good days. You can't have a lapse any one of the days or you might be caught behind the eight ball.

'Anything is possible. We've got to play well, and it's got to start from the opening tee shot.'