Written by Kate Kuwitzky
The Harding women’s and men’s golf teams are off to a hot start, finishing first and third respectively in their last tournament.
The men’s team is coming off a disappointing finish to last year’s season, in which they placed 9th in the Gulf South Conference. With the addition of four new players to this year’s team, Coach Dustin Howell is confident they will improve.
“All four were highly recruited talent, and I’m proud that they will represent Bison golf for Harding,” Howell said.
Brandon Cauldwell, Lewis Jackson, Blake Chase, and Ryan Hadash are all expected to be key contributors this year.
Howell also hopes an overhauled practice schedule will help the team’s play.
“I gave our golf practice schedule a complete makeover to target our key areas that needed improvement: short game,” Howell said.
The Bisons will also take advantage of the opportunity to practice at two local courses, Searcy Country Club and The Course at River Oaks.
The hard work seems to be paying off already. Freshman Blake Chase broke the university record for a two-round tournament and led the team to a third place finish at the Bison Fall Classic earlier this week.
The Bisons are looking to crack the top five in the conference this year with the strong play of their freshman.
The Lady Bisons are also entering play with high expectations. The Lady Bisons finished sixth in the Gulf South Conference tournament last season but are confident they can do better this year.
“I have very high expectations,” Coach Nicky Boyd said. “I think if our freshmen continue to improve, we have a chance of challenging for the conference championship.”
The Lady Bisons added three highly touted recruits, including the Arkansas 3A state champion So-Yun Kim. Kim also earned All-State honors twice in her high-school career.
The Lady Bisons are already benefiting from strong freshman play. They won their first tournament of the season earlier this week behind the outstanding play of So-Yun Kim, who shot a record low 150 in the two-round tournament and took home the individual win. So-Yun Kim and Ragan Muncy also tied for fourth.
Both the Bison and Lady Bison golf teams will play a tough regular season schedule in preparation for what they hope will be a successful Gulf South Conference tournament this spring.
