Darton golfers ready for national tournament

ALBANY — Conner Watt looked at a pair of golf balls on the first green at Doublegate Country Club during a recent Darton State College practice.

Watt smiled at teammates Seth Sanders and Josh Glossop, then congratulated the pair.

“That’s pretty good guys,” Watt told his teammates Friday, playing in a threesome.

Glossop and Sanders had to make putts less than a foot to birdie the par-4, which they did successfully.

After a fall and spring season in which Darton played well enough to win nearly every match they competed in, their efforts all come down to the one last tournament — the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II nationals that begin Tuesday at Goosepond Resort in Scottsdale, Ala. The tournament is four rounds.

“Every single practice hopefully has prepared us for these next four days,” Darton coach Gary Hilton said.

And Darton believes they are playing their best. Of the 11 tournaments the Cavaliers played this season, they finished in the top three in nine of 11, winning three. They are coming off perhaps their most impressive match of the season in which they won the conference tournament by a staggering 33 strokes. And Watt finished as the region champion.

The Cavaliers also believe playing the course at Goosepond Resort will give them an added advantage. Darton finished tied for third in the National Preview Tournament tournament in March in soggy conditions, finishing 20 strokes over par.

“We went out and killed it at the region,” Sanders said. “So that gave us a lot of confidence.”

The Cavaliers are leaving this morning for Scottsboro and while the team has continued to play well in practices, Hilton said getting everyone back on a routine could be a challenge.

“I think the guys are ready to go … but we’ve got to get back to waking up at 5 a.m., eating breakfast and being ready to go,” Hilton said. “We’ve been practicing at like 11 and 1.”

Glossop believes the Cavaliers could play their best golf of the season this week.

“We’ve definitely seen some good stuff out of Conner Watt, but I believe we’re all capable of bettering ourselves,” Glossop said. “We want to be playing our best golf at the end of next week.”

After nearly a month between the region and national tournaments, Darton players insist the break has been good for them to fine-tune their game.

“It’s given me some time to work on some changes, particularly in my swing which has benefited me,” Sanders said. “I think the break has helped the team too. We’ve been playing some good practice matches and getting a chance to work on some other stuff.”