Air Force Men's Golf - 1999-2000 Season Wrap Up <!--REPLACE WITH STORY TITLE TEASER-->
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The team finished the fall season on a strong note, winning the 1999 Service Academy Golf Classic. It was the fifth consecutive year that Air Force won the event, and the second consecutive year the individual title went to AFA's Ben Leestma. Leestma shot a one over par 217 (70-75-72) to win the event.
The 54-hole event involved the golf teams from The U.S. Air Force Academy, The U.S. Naval Academy, The U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. It is golf's equivalent to the Football Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and is named after the tournament founder, the late Bill Reemtsma, a 1963 Air Force Academy graduate.
In its first event of the spring, the Air Force golf team got off to a strong start, leading after the first two rounds of the Emerald Coast Invitational. An unkind final round cost the team a chance at bringing home the trophy, however, and the Falcons finished the tournament in third place, with a three-day total of 898. West Florida, the host of the tournament, carded a 289 in the final round to grab first-place honors.
The Falcons took the early lead, shooting a 295 the first day of the two-day event. They took a two-stroke lead into the second day, and improved their score, shooting a 293 to secure the victory. The final round the team shot 310, costing them any chance of winning the event.
Andrew Robinson paced the Falcons for two days, shooting 143 (74-69), and entered the final round in second place. He shot 80 the final round, finishing tied for ninth. Danny Visosky had the best Falcon finish, carding 74 each round to finish with a total of 222. He placed sixth (tied) overall.
Next up for the Falcons was the Wolverine South Invitational. Ben Leestma led the Air Force charge at the event, finishing tied for fifth place. Leestma carded a 74-77=151 to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place overall. As a team, the Falcons finished in 12th place, out of 18 teams that competed in the tournament.
In the team's next tournament, the Sacramento State Invitational, Ben Leestma again led the Air Force attack, finishing tied for sixth place at the Sacramento State Invitational. Leestma carded a 75-73-78=226 to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place overall. It was the second top 10 finish for Leestma in as many events. He finished fifth overall last week at the Wolverine South Invitational. As a team, the Falcons finished in sixth place, out of 10 teams that competed in the tournament.
At the Stevinson Ranch Invitational, held March 27th and 28th, the golf team finished in third place. The Falcons were led by Ben Leestma, who posted a three-round total of 302-299-305-906. Leestma carded a 74-70-74-218 to grab a share of second place overall, and was named the McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Men's Golfer of the Week. Leestma, who has consistently finished in the top 10 this season, missed bringing home the trophy by just one stroke. It was his fifth consecutive top-10 finish.
The team then traveled to Wichita, Kansas, for the Diet Pepsi/Shocker Invitational. The Falcons finished in ninth place out of 14 teams. Team captain Danny Visosky had his best finish of the spring, placing tied for fifth place. He improved each round, carding a 75-74-72 for a final stroke total of 221. Arkansas State, which had two golfers tied for third place, won the event. The tournament took place April 10-11 at the Crestview Country Club.
In the final tournament of the regular season, the golf team traveled to Provo, Utah, for the BYU Cougar Classic on April 20-21. The Falcons finished in ninth place out of 15 teams. Team captain Danny Visosky had his best tournament of the spring, finishing with a 71-71-74=216. He was the top Falcons' finisher, placing 13th overall. His score places him in the Falcons' record book, having tied for 17th on the all-time tournament scoring list. Tournament host BYU, which had three golfers place in the top three spots, won the event by 24 strokes. The tournament took place April 20-21 at the Riverside Country Club.
The men's golf team had a disappointing finish to the 1999-2000 season, placing eighth in the Mountain West Conference championships.
The Falcons carded a three-round score of 309-311-301=921 to finish 76 strokes off first-place winner UNLV, which was the only team to finish under par (-19). The Falcons were 15 strokes behind seventh-place finisher Wyoming. Leestma led all Falcons, finishing tied for 25th place with a score of 81-78-68=227. His final round score of 68 was the best score for the third round, but high scores in the opening rounds cost him a shot at the title.
The team graduates Jeff Scohy and Danny Visosky, two of the three Falcons' golfers who competed in every event of the season. For the team to continue to be competitive in the future, the coaches look to improve upon consistency from the bottom three positions of the varsity line up.
