Gutshall breaks out the knickers
9/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Why is Lehigh’s head golf coach Kelly Gutshall wearing knickers around Taylor Gym this week? Because the men’s golf team made history.
Lehigh may have finished 14th at the James Madison Invitational, but they shot a school record 588 over the two round event, and perhaps more importantly, each of the ten scores recorded for the tournament were below 80.
"I’ve always promised that if all ten scores were in the seventies, that I would wear knickers around campus for a week," Gutshall said as he stood up from behind his desk, "So I am wearing them."
It took twelve years, but a Lehigh golf team finally tested Gutshall’s word, and he kept it.
"This is the strongest tournament that Lehigh has ever played," Gutshall said, while tucking his pants further into his calf-high socks "But we’re not satisfied with doing our best, we enter every tournament to win."
The Mountain Hawks shot a 296-292, 20 strokes over par, en route to their historical 588. Freshmen Patrick McCahill led the way for Lehigh, posting a 4 over 70-76, 146.
"Where we ended up shows how difficult the field was," head coach Kelly Gutshall said, "But we want to be in the tournaments with the strong teams, and this is one of the strongest fields we’ve ever seen."
The tournament, played at the Lakeview Golf Club in Harrisburg, VA, pitted Lehigh against 24 top teams, including the University of Richmond, University of Maryland, and James Madison, all of which competed in the NCAA Championship’s East Regional in 1999.
According to Gutshall, however, these are exactly the kinds of teams that they want to be playing with.
"It’s the only way to get any recognition," Gutshall said "We’re playing teams that we have no record of beating, we’re playing ranked teams."
So while 14th place out of 24 teams may not seem like anything to write home about, Gutshall believes last weekend to be the best golf Lehigh has ever played, and the best golf teams that Lehigh has ever played against.
"We’re anxious to get better, everyone shot in the seventies, and that was the goal, but now we’ll all be shooting to be in the low seventies."
So it sounds like the fewer strokes these guys take, the less pants fabric Gutshall exposes.
"It’s just to put a little bit of fun into the game," Gutshall said "We always try to remember why we are out there, and a lot of times its because its fun."
Mike Eglit, and Ron Kashlak finished at five strokes over par, and Rob McMenimon pitched in a 76-74, finishing 8 over.
Lehigh also played their second tournament of the season without the services of last year’s Patriot League champion Bowen Osborn, who is recovering from a separated shoulder he sustained over the summer.
"We aren’t going to play Bowen until he is 100%," Gutshall said "He is a very important part of our team and we want him to be healthy for the spring."
Lehigh returns to action next Monday, as George Washington University hosts the Rehoboth Beach Invitational at Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
