Knights take Victory at UMHB Invitational!

Your Northwood Knights took the championship at the UMHB Invitational hosted by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at Stonetree GC in Killeen, Texas.

The Knights started the day, played in beautiful sunshine with a brisk wind, in confident fashion as they made the turn at 5 under par. The wind picked up on the back side as the Knights posted a solid 1 over, 289.

Led by a 2 under par 70 by Freshman Carter Caldwell, the Knights although not playing at their fluent best, managed the course, the wind and their games very well.

Coach Belfield "I challenged the guys to convert chances when they needed to but play conservative when out of position. They did this superbly. Only Carter and maybe Derek played well, the other three found ways to manage their games and post a score. I was extremely pleased to again see Carter post a score and be backed up by the team. We are in exactly the position we want to be heading into the final round!"

The Knights, leading by 3 going into the final round, found the conditions much tougher as winds gusted up to 30mph. They started really solid however posting 3 under at the turn, dealing with the wind superbly.

The back nine, which is the tougher nine, the players dropped some shots and made a few loose swings however managed to post a decent score of 299 to leave a nervous wait to see who won.

The scores were announced and the Knights took victory over the host school by a mere one stroke!



(from left) Travis Kemp, Joss Gosling, Derek Trofimczuk, Carter Caldwell & JT Zaiger



Led by Travis Kemp's level par 72, the Knights scrapped their way to victory, showing that whilst much work needed to be done they can -

- Play with the lead

- Win whilst not playing their best

- Grind a score out

- WIN!

Coach Belfield "This win was a really nice one to take away, the guys showed they are very comfortable sleeping on the lead and came out this morning ready to post a score that simply no one would beat. We didn't finish as well as we would have liked but considering the conditions I knew there would be a couple of shots that didn't turn out to our liking. Carter posted a very solid score to finish 2nd overall whilst not playing his fluent best and Travis led the team like a Senior should today. Winning breeds winning and this is a good way to go into next week!"

Led by Carter Caldwell T2nd (70-75), Senior Travis Kemp placed T4th with 75-72, Sophomores Joss Gosling (T8th 74-75), Derek Trofimczuk (T11th 72-78) & JT Zaiger (T11th 73-77).

The Knights go into next week’s Texoma Championship at Chickasaw Pointe GC in high spirits; you can follow our season & rankings at Golfstat

RESULTS

 

Knights finish 10th in season opener!

Your Northwood Knights opened their season at the UC Ferguson Classic hosted by Oklahoma City University at Lincoln Park GC.

The Knights started the first round in glorious sunshine, on a very scoreable golf course by firing a 294 which left them in T9th. Led by a solid 69 by Sophomore Derek Trofimczuk, the Knights struggled to get anything going on the greens and that left them much work to do in the second round.

The Second round brought them a fast start, Freshman Carter Caldwell fired a blistering bogey free 31 and the team turned at 7 under par, unfortunately the back nine brought them only bogies as they simply could not sustain and build off the great start.

Senior Travis Kemp led the team with a good score of 1 under par 70 however with average scores of 72 (Jeremy Novakowski & Carter Caldwell) and Derek Trofimczuk ending with a 75 the team could only come in with a 289.

Coach Belfield "The guys got off to a sloppy start this morning and couldn't really get going, whenever we did something good they followed it with a mistake that cost them a shot. The second round we started off superbly, I was really pleased that Carter showed a glimpse of his talent by firing a really good front nine however to compete at this level you need to score on all 18 holes, we simply didn't do that on the back nine. The guys didn't play badly but we certainly didn't play well, they just didn't capitalize on some of the good shots they hit, as a result we need to post a low one tomorrow!"

Coach Belfield added "The Knights 3rd round began early and they struggled right out of the gate, bringing it back and playing a little more solid towards the end of the nine, we turned just about OK. The back nine was extremely poor however and whilst the teams around us were firing birdies we seemingly only had pars and bogies to respond. The guys were extremely disappointed, as they should be, but we simply cannot hit some of the shots we did when teams around us are shooting under par. If we truly believe we are a good team, we need to prove it in tournaments like this. We simply have no excuses this time around."

The Knights finished in 10th place firing 294-289-300. Led by Senior Travis Kemp T-23rd (72-70-71), Derek Trofimczuk T-49th (69-75-76), Carter Caldwell T-56th (76-72-75), Jeremy Novakowski T-66th (77-72-81) and Drake Genna 70th (79-78-78)

The Knights get a chance very quickly to progress as they go to Stonetree GC in Killeen, TX next week playing in the Mary Hardin-Baylor Invitational.

Men's Team

Women's Team

Zain finishes 3rd as Lady Knights have solid finish!

Your Lady Knights opened the 2012/13 season by co-hosting the "Hawks Creek Classic" at Hawks Creek GC in Ft.Worth.

The Lady Knights started off very slowly on Monday in perfect conditions and eventually posted a 331 to lie in T-3rd.

The Lady Knights were led by Freshman Fariza Zain's 79, Laura Deleonardis had 80, Caitlin Cole had 85, Daniela Martinez 87 and Junior Carol Galindo shot 88.

Coach Belfield "I had 4 freshmen playing and they all seemed to be very tense and nervous at the start of the round. That is what got us, we didn't start very well at all, combine that with a couple of slip-ups towards the end of the round and it makes 331!

I challenged the girls to make sure that we don't think 331 is any good, they deserve a Coach that is going to push them and although last year we may have been pleased with 331, this year is a whole new year, with new attitudes and better scores."

Before the second round the girls made sure to do a little work on their putting before the round and they all seemed to be much more settled.

Led again by Fariza Zain who fired a solid 74 to finish 3rd overall, the Lady Knights posted a much improved 315.

Coach Belfield "The girls came out with a little more fire and seemed a lot more comfortable. I was expecting us to fire a score much lower than the first day!

Fariza played some really nice golf but should see this as a missed opportunity. Fariza and Laura both played much better than their scores suggested.

Even though I had 4 girls that were playing their first collegiate event, they all know how to play golf and score well. This tournament, where we competed against some very good schools should serve as both encouragement and a target for the girls. We are very talented but if we want to achieve our aims our short games have to improve."

Fariza finished 3rd (79-74), Laura shot 80-80 to finish in 12th, Daniela Martinez finished 20th shooting 87-79, Caitlin Cole (85-82) and Carol Galindo (88-89) rounded out the scoring.

Competing individually Kirstie Krueger had a great result shooting 78-84 to finish in a tie for 14th and Nicola Jeffries shot 101-107.

The Lady Knights now have a month to get their games in order before they compete in what should be the strongest field of the fall at the No.1 ranked Oklahoma City Stars tournament.

RESULTS

Lady Knights Season Preview

Your Northwood Lady Knights come into the 2012/13 season with a new sense of

Optimism and renewed vigor. 

Returning all 4 players from last year’s squad including Senior, Esther Kang, the Lady Knights have all the opportunity in the world to start, continue and move on from their great result at conference last year.

The Lady Knights have 4 freshmen and a transfer Junior and have the biggest Women's squad in the last 5 years.

Coach Belfield "I am so excited by the opportunity the Women's team has this year! Being able to bring in 5 new players who are extremely talented so that they can push the 4 girls from last year is exactly what I was looking for going into this year! Esther is recovering from injury but when she returns I expect her to reach new levels, Carol, Nicola and Kirstie all made big swing changes last year and are now really beginning to see those changes come to fruition.

The 5 new players hail from all over the world, we have Laura who has had a very solid career playing high level junior golf, Daniela who has the opportunity to help put Mexican golf on the collegiate map, Fariza who is currently in the Top 1000 amateurs in the world, Lesley who is so young in her golf has no idea how good she can be and Caitlin, who signed last week that has the swing & work ethic of a potential All-American"

"Our schedule should be amongst the toughest in the country, we are playing all over the country against some of the best NAIA & DI & DII teams. With the amount of talent on this squad, the sky is truly the limit. Once they get used to the way I do things and learn from the returners about what is expected of them every day, every workout, every practice I believe we will find out what happens when you combine hard work and talent! It could be a great battle between the Men's & Women's squad to see who is ranked the highest and wins the most!!!"

You can follow the Knights progress on Twitter and of course on this blog!

Knights Season Preview

Your Northwood Knights come into the 2012/13 season with a huge amount of confidence, led by Seniors Travis Kemp & Ian Morehouse; the Knights are expecting great things.

Returning all 10 players who got as high as 23rd in the nation last and finished with a team stroke average of 302, the Knights are better positioned to take a run at a Top 5 ranking and a shot at the National Championship.

Coach Belfield "We have a very talented squad returning all the players who were with me last year. Travis has a huge amount of tournament experience, Joss Gosling was one of the top players in the nation last year and Derek Trofimczuk had a superb end to the year, leading the team in scoring over the last 4 tournaments. Combining that with JT, Daniel and Chris amongst the other returners who have seemingly worked really hard on their games over the summer and we should be in good stead! It will be interesting to see how my freshmen do with such a strong squad......!"

"Our schedule should be amongst the toughest in the country, we are playing 2 TPC courses, going to Florida to play some of the eastern teams and for the first time in Northwood history playing 9 regular season events. We have a very healthy mix of great courses which will no doubt have some of the strongest teams in the country. We are looking forward to the challenge!"

The Knights open the season at the tournament of the defending National Champions, Oklahoma City. The tournament hosted at Lincoln Park GC opens September 16th.

You can follow the Knights progress on Twitter and of course on this blog!

Lady Knights add Cole for 2012/13 Season!

Your Northwood Lady Knights would like to announce the signing of Caitlin Cole for the 2012/13 season!

Caitlin hails from Brunswick, Georgia and comes to Northwood with a host of junior tournament experience.

Coach Belfield "Caitlin is truly someone who can be as good as she decides to be. The opportunity to sign her came very late in the season but I am very pleased to have added her to an already talented squad. With Caitlin's addition I expect even more that this team will be a record breaking team......however we shall leave that in the hands of the players!"

Caitlin is the Daughter of Les & Pam Cole and is a transfer from Brewton-Parker University in Georgia.

Caitlin will hope to start her Northwood collegiate career at the Hawks Creek Classic hosted in Ft Worth starting September 10th.



Caitlin Cole



Coach Belfield gains award!

Coach Ben Belfield was recently awarded the title of Certified Putting Instructor!

Coach has been taking courses through the PGA of America & Frankly Golf Putting to gain this certification.

Coach Belfield "I always tell and ask my players to develop and never stop learning, always trying to gain more knowledge. That starts with me!! I am always trying to find new ways to develop myself and therefore be able to pass on knowledge and expertise to my players. With the courses I have been taking and the knowledge I have been able to acquire, I believe that my team will continue to develop as putters and get the ball in the hole quicker!!"

All-Academic teams announced!

The 2012 GCAA All-Academic team awards were announced August 1st and I am pleased to announce that Northwood University were one of only 12 NAIA teams to be given All-Academic honors!!!

Coach Belfield "The guys have shown this year that whilst they are a smart bunch, they also work hard and are able to manage their time appropriately. I would love to see us reach the next level of academics by reaching a team GPA of 3.5 next year but with 7 freshman on the team they have started in the right manner. I look forward to seeing how well we can do next year!"

Team Media Release

Kemp becomes GCAA All-American Scholar!

Canadian Senior-to-be Travis Kemp received another accolade to add to his growing list of academic honors by becoming one of only 14 NAIA golfers to earn the title of All American Scholar.

To be eligible for Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar status an individual must be a junior or senior academically, compete in at least three full years at the collegiate level, participate in 70-percent of his team’s competitive rounds under 77.0 in NAIA, and maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.2. 

A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.

Coach Belfield adds "I am really proud of the way Travis goes about his business. He takes care of all his work and has a cumulative GPA of over 3.85, to combine this with a solid level of golf is superb. I know he would love to add the title of All American golfer next year but this award adds to an already full resume. I look forward to seeing how much he can achieve this coming year!"

http://collegiategolf.com/news/cleveland-golfsrixon-all-america-scholars-named-1716.html

Three Knights named NAIA Scholars!

Three of Northwood's finest were named to the NAIA All American Scholar award.

The awards are given out annually and to be nominated you have to be a junior or senior and have a GPA above 3.5.

The winner of this prestigious award were; 

Recently graduated Adam Gelmon, and seniors-to-be Travis Kemp and Ian Morehouse.

Coach Belfield "This Knights team has shown a dedication to being the best in all they do and academics is a huge part of that. I stress to them that doing there best will ultimately pay dividends for them in whatever they choose to do, and for us as a team whilst they are a student-athlete at Northwood University. The leaders in academics over the last year have been Travis, Ian and Adam who have shown that they take care of business and are able to manage their time & schedules. I applaud them for their work ethic & attitudes; knowing that Travis and Ian will continue to be leaders in academics."

Travis Kemp

Ian Morehouse

Adam Gelmon

Lady Knights add Martinez to squad!

Coach Belfield and the Lady Knights would like to announce the signing of Daniela Martinez for the 2012/13 season!

Daniela hails from Mexicali, Mexico and graduated from Vincent Memorial High School in San Diego.

Coach Belfield "Daniela comes to us with a passion and desire to get better. She has a lot of experience playing the USA having just graduated from High School in San Diego. Daniela has the world of potential, what she has coming at Northwood is a way & opportunity to develop that potential!!! I am looking forward to seeing her develop over the next 4 years!"

Daniela is the final signing of the year for the Lady Knights. The Lady Knights start their quest to the NAIA National Championship at the Hawks Creek Invitational.

How do you compare to the Tour Average?

A lot of golfers (and non-golfers) get drawn into the mystique of the PGA & LPGA players, saying things like "from 100yds a Pro always sticks it inside of 10ft" or "from 6ft a Pro makes them ALL the time".

This can often lead to a misconception that Pro's make everything they look at and hit every shot pure.
This is simply not the case!

I am not for one minute saying that the Pro's aren't very good because, well they are! They are amazing. But look at a few of these stats and it will show that whilst Pros are VERY VERY good, they are not infallible.

Listed are some of the key stats on tour, these are the averages as of today......see how you stack up and see if your putting too much pressure on yourself......!!

PGA Stats

Greens in Reg – 63.49% or 11.42	Avg 1 Putt Distance – 10.5ft
Fairways Hit – 58.99% or 8.25	Avg Putts per Round – 29.08
Driving Distance Avg – 287.1yds	Putts made from 3ft – 99.23%
GIR from Fairway – 74.17% or 13.35	Putts made from 4ft – 91.43%
GIR from Rough – 50.87% or 9.15	Putts made from 6ft – 68.52%
Scrambling (Up & Down) – 56.92%	Putts made from 10 to 15ft – 29.29%
Sand Save Percentage – 48.89%	Putts made from 15 to 25ft – 15.13%
1-Putts per Round – 6.87	Putts made from over 25ft – 5.26%

LPGA Stats

Greens in Reg – 63.10% or 11.35	Sand Save Percentage – 40.90%
Fairways Hit – 68.50% or 9.59	Avg Putts per Round – 30.27
Driving Distance Avg – 252yds

Gosling named to All-Freshman team!

Freshman Joss Gosling from Harpendon, England was one of five players named to the GCAA All-Freshman team on Friday 25th May 2012.

Gosling finished the season with a 73.92 stroke average and having missed out on All American honours, finished the season with reaching this fantastic accomplishment!

Coach Belfield "This is a fantastic achievement for Joss. He is a fine player who is only starting to see & believe how good he can be! This award should be another boost to his confidence and a real feather in his cap".

http://collegiategolf.com/news/taylor-naia-winner-of-phil-mickelson-award-presented-by-the-phil-and-amy-mickelson-foundation-1684.html

Knights finish 24th in final Golf Week Poll

GOLF WORLD ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF FINAL MEN’S NAIA

COLLEGE COACHES’ POLL OF 2011-2012 SEASON

Oklahoma Christian Maintains Top Spot

(NEW YORK, NY)—The final Golf World/Nike Golf NAIA College Coaches’ Poll of the 2011-2012 season has been released, combining the resources of Golf World magazine, Nike Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The complete results, including results from Divisions I, II, III and NJCAA will appear in the May 21, 2012 issue of Golf World and are live now: http://golfdig.st/fnmTj6

Oklahoma Christian continues to lay claim to the No. 1 ranking in the final Golf World/Nike Golf men’s NAIA coaches’ poll of the spring, earning six of the 11 first-place votes. The Eagles will attempt to defend their national title at the NAIA Championship next week in Salem, Ore.

Oklahoma City stayed in the second spot, earning four first-place votes, with Texas Wesleyan, Grand View and USC-Beaufort rounding out the top five.

One new school joined the top 10: No. 10 Wayland Baptist. Two new programs moved into the top 25: No. 23 Holy Cross and T-24 Northwood U. (Texas).

Visit Golf World Senior Writer Ryan Herrington’s “Campus Insider” blog to find out the latest on collegiate golf: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/blogs/campusinsider.

# # #

Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches’ Poll

May 21, 2012 Issue

NAIA

Rank    Team                                                   Points     Last1.            Oklahoma Christian (6)               270            1

2.            Oklahoma City (4)                         267            2

3.            Texas Wesleyan                               241            3

4.            Grand View (1)                                240            4

5.            USC-Beaufort                                    197            6

6.            Lee                                                         177            9

7.            Point Loma Nazarene                   175            7

                U. of the Cumberlands                  175            10

9.            British Columbia                             166            5

10.          Wayland Baptist                              164            13

11.          CSU-San Marcos                              160            8

12.          Johnson & Wales                             137            11

                William Woods                                137            15

14.          Victoria                                               136            18

15.          Our Lady of the Lake                     131            14

16.          Southern Nazarene                        121            19

17.          SCAD Savannah                                84               12

18.          Lubbock Christian                          74               20

19.          Northwood U. (Fla.)                      70               17

                Shorter                                                70               16

21.          The Masters College                       55               23

22.          Lewis-Clark State                            45               21

23.          Holy Cross                                          25               NR

24.          Holy Names                                       24               T-24

                Northwood U. (Texas)                 24               NR

Knights sign State Champion!

The Northwood Knights Men's Coach, Ben Belfield would like to announce the signing of Carter Caldwell from Waco, Texas for the 2012/13 season.

Carter arrives having just won his third straight individual 2A State championship representing Vanguard Prep which is located in Waco, Texas.

Some of Carter's achievements during his High School career are -

Team State Champions in Golf (2009-2012)

Varsity Golf Letterman (2009-2012)

TAPPS Golf 3A Regional Champion (2010)

TAPPS Golf 3A Individual State Champion (2010)

TAPPS Golf 2A Regional Runner-Up (2011)

TAPPS Golf 2A Individual State Champion (2011)

TAPPS Golf 2A Individual District Champion (2012)

TAPPS Golf 2A Regional Runner- up (2012)

TAPPS Golf 2A Individual State Champion (2012)

Ridgewood Junior Champion (2008 & 2011)

Marvin Dameron Midway Invitation Champion (2012)

Holy Trinity Invitational Champion (2012)

Coach Belfield "I am really pleased to have signed Carter, he comes to us with a winning mentality and will help us immediately. I am looking forward to seeing his game & more importantly Carter the person grow, mature and gain success over the course of the next four years. It should be an exciting time for him!".

Women's Tournament Stats 2011/12 Season

	F.I.R	G.I.R	Putts	Score
Esther Kang	9.00	9.00	31.75	78.25
Bailey Bearden	9.57	5.86	34.00	86.50
Carol Galindo	9.63	5.19	34.50	87.75
Kirstie Krueger	9.79	6.64	35.36	91.36
Nicola Jeffries	6.69	1.94	34.88	102.25