Statesmen take first in Derrall Foreman Invitational
The golf team at Delta State University came up huge in the Derrall Foreman Invitational at the Samuel T. Dunning Golf Course.
The Statesmen won the two-day tournament that started on Oct. 20 and concluded on Oct. 21.
The Statesmen were tied for second with Trevecca Nazarene after the first day and first two rounds with a 22-over par, 598. Arkansas-Monticello was first with a 19-over par 595. On the second day, the Statesmen shot a six-over par, 294 which was a good enough to catapult them to victory with a 28-over par, 892.
The win was the first for the Statesmen in Issac Samples’ tenure as head coach and the first overall win out right since March of 2022 when DSU won the Buccaneer Spring Classic. The Statesmen tied Tiffin University for first place in the Music City Invitational at Old Hickory, Tenn. on April 6, 2024.
“Obviously, it was great getting the win,” said Samples about getting the win. “That’s huge. When you’re able to get a tournament win, it can propel you forward because now you’re familiar with being in that scenario. I would say we still have a long way to go to get exactly where we want to be, but that typically is always going to be the case regardless of what success you’ve had. I do think it’s a good confidence builder moving forward to be able to say, ‘Hey, we can go out and win a golf tournament now.’ That was a big goal of mine and a big mountain to climb. Now, it’s about competing at bigger events and figuring out a way to win bigger events.”
Union ended up finishing second with an 896, while Monticello came in third with an 897. Delta State’s B-squad had a good performance as well by finishing fifth with a 902 which was just four strokes behind fourth place Trevecca Nazarene (900).
Sophomore Ty Werynski had another great tournament for the Statesmen as he won the individual medalist honor by finishing first in the individual standings with a 1-over par, 217. He shot a 72 in the first round, a 74 in the second round and a 71 in the third round. Werynski had 32 pars and 11 birdies with just 11 holes that resulted in a bogey or worse. He had 10 bogeys and only one double bogey. Werynski has won two tournaments this year and had finished in the top five in all five tournaments this fall.
“He’s been playing some really good golf and going out there and competing in every tournament,” said Samples. “It’s obviously great to see as a coach. You love to see guys go out there, compete and win, because it bleeds into the other group of golfers. Then, they feel like they can go out there and win. It’s just a shared energy.”
Another player for Statesman that shined was freshman Gonzalo De Minon for the DSU B-squad. De Minion shot a six-over par, 222 to finish sixth. De Minion shot a 77 in the first round and a 79 in the second round. De Minon had the round of his life in the third by shooting a 6-under par, 66. De Minion birded on five holes and shot a three on hole 6 which is a par-5 hole to gave him an eagle. He only had one bogey on the final day. In the first two rounds, he had just three birdies and had 13 holes were he got a bogey or worse.
“He’s coming on strong, and he’s a real young kid,” said Samples. “He turned 18 just a few weeks ago. He still has a lot of growth in front of him, but I think he’s expediting that process a little bit by asking the right questions and surrounding himself with some of the older guys on the team who can show him the ropes. I felt like that third round was a culmination of him making the right decisions as a freshman and surrounding himself around guys who are going to help him answer questions and develop.”
For DSU’s main squad, freshman Hayden Webber finished tied for seventh with a seven-over par, 223,
“Hayden has stepped up big the last two events we’ve played and has kind of been a good driving force as far as young talent on the team. He’s definitely someone I can see being a really good golfer here. He just has to continue to develop.”
Senior Peter Blazevic finished tied for 15th with a 12-over par, 228, junior Niko Salmi finished tied for 27th with a 15-over par, 231 and senior Santino Ercole finished tied for 37th with a 19-over par, 235 to round out DSU’s main squad.
For DSU’s B-squad, freshman Evans Haynie, freshman Payne Bius and freshman Cooper Jones finished tied for 15th with a 12-over par, 228, and junior Davis Byrd and freshman Grant Simpson finished tied for 45th with a 25-over par, 241.
DSU will return to the golf course in the spring. For updates on the spring schedule, go to www.gostatesmen.com.