JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – On Monday, the No. 16 Carson-Newman men's golf team kicks off its 2023 fall season at the Mizuno Intercollegiate in Gainesville, Georgia.
Head coach Randy Wylie and the rest of the Eagles have been eager to get back on the course, and they have a chance to showcase their hard work on Monday.
"We're just super excited to get started," Wylie said. "I think we have a really good team, and we've been preparing well, so hopefully we can show that at the tournaments."
Coming into the new season, Wylie acknowledges the importance of starting the season on a good note.
"It's important to get out to a good start," Wylie said. "Last year, we didn't start very well, and we were able to dig our way out of it… We're really trying to put an emphasis on being ready to go right from the start."
Wylie believes others will step up despite losing two big production pieces from last year's team.
"The guys are doing really well," Wylie said. "We have quite a few experienced players coming back and good leaders, also some newcomers that are doing a really nice job, so we think we're going to have a really competitive team on a national level."
Going into the Mizuno Intercollegiate, the Eagles are prepared for the challenges that lie ahead, both within the course itself and the opposing talent.
"It's really an NCAA Regional Preview," Wylie said. "It's super important that we get to know that golf course well… The field is all teams that expect to go to the NCAAs, so it's going to be really great competition."
With a potent challenge at hand, Wylie looks to keep his team level-headed throughout.
"Golf is such a process game, and we're just trying to play one shot at a time," Wylie said. "We need to keep preparing the way we do, which is day-to-day and shot-to-shot."
The Eagles will take the course for day one of the Mizuno Intercollegiate on Monday at 9 a.m.
