• The KillerFrogs

TCU Golf 2021-2022

JogginFrog

Active Member
And there is no influx of talent coming unless they can run some guys off and fill from the portal.
Is it a talent issue? Asking as an honest question. As you noted, the team lost one guy off a squad that made nationals and nearly made the top-15 cut. I recall Golf Channel saying to watch out for the Frogs this year. Coach certainly scheduled like they would be good. And if (a) one of the two transfers had worked out, or (b) at least one returnee showed progress, you'd think they'd have been fine.

It seemed like they had the latter when Berzina had a strong summer and then started the season with a top-15 finish at Pebble in a loaded field. Then, Gums came on with a pair of top-10 finishes, they beat 4 top-25 teams as Colonial, and they tied the #2-ranked team at the Big 12 Match Play. With Celli coming back for the spring, you're thinking, "They'll be fine."

But they didn't have much margin, given the strong fall scheduling. They didn't light it up in Hawaii, and when they were literally blown off the course at La Quinta needing a result, the path back to NCAAs was hard to find. At that point, they seemed to lose interest.

Looking at the returning talent:
- Gums -- stepped it up to fill the hole (he's the highest-ranked Frog in Golfstat at 140)--3 top 10s and 71% finish percentage
- Laussot -- averaging a stroke aside better than last year (ranked 192) with a finish % at 73% (best of his career by far)
- Frimodt -- finish percentage down a tick, but his scoring average is actually better than last year; serviceable
- Celli -- still the 141st amateur in the world; posted a top-10 in his first start; but after La Quinta, his season seemed over before it started; can understand if he's lost motivation; could have used him in the fall
- Oleson -- big step back in scoring this year; has missed some action--not sure if a slump or injury related; still seems like a ton of talent
- Berzina -- made a leap over the summer and then top-15 in a loaded field at Pebble; but Maridoe led into a cycle of shaky results and inconsistent playing time; a reset is needed; with the Bellinger scholarship, I hope that happens at TCU

Not sure I would want to offload any of those guys if they really want to be at TCU. But I want them all to make it clear that TCU is where they want to be and where they are committed to becoming better. And they should show that in practice despite not having much to play for. Every scholly is a renewable 1-year deal; guys should practice like they want a renewal.

I don't know that Massey or the others have the potential to take TCU to a better place, but I'm also not sure how many scholarship slots those guys are consuming. So, do I care if they stay on the roster? Only if the model of "create a highly competitive culture of internal competition" isn't working. Maybe it's not (and maybe the Covid allowances have just complicated things). If you need to give assurances of playing time to sign the guys you want, go ahead. But don't also keep a big stable of walk-ons or 10-20%ers who are told that every week is an opportunity. Build a cohesive unit of 7 or 8 and go to war.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
I mentioned the idea of a leaner lineup for the TCU men. The downside of that approach is not having sufficient depth, especially when players go through a slump or injury. The women are seeing that challenge now, with fantastic play at the top but a struggle for consistency in the 4-5 slots.

As of today, TCU has two top-50 players on the women's side, with Macnab ranked 28th and Iqbal 45th in Golfstat. It's by far the best 1-2 TCU has seen in many years, and certainly the best ever in terms of pure scoring.

The D1 teams with two or more players in the top 50 are ranked: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 17...and 31. You can guess where TCU is in that list. That's the depth issue.

Lois Lau has been a pretty reliable #3, but the Frogs need Val or Caroline to get back into form to make a post-season run. Trinity King has flashes but is still searching for consistency, and Sabrina Nguyen hasn't made a start since early fall.

Will be interesting to see if Iqbal plans to return for a bonus year. If so, with the addition of Sofia Barroso Sá (ranked 172 in WAGR) for next year, The Frogs are probably one transfer away from being a legit top-15 team.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Was looking at the European Challenge Tour rankings and noticed that former Frog Alexander Knappe was second in the overall standings. Figured I must have missed a win somewhere. Sure enough, he picked up his third career Challenge Tour win in February in South Africa.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Tom Hoge and Paul Barjon teaming up as an all-Horned Frog team at the Zurich Classic. The pair is off to a solid start on Day 1 Four Ball. Each has a pair of birdies and the team is -4 through 10, good for second place behind Hovland and Morikawa. Scores will be tightly bunched until they get to alternate shot tomorrow.

Barjon has missed 6 of 7 cuts since his T10 at the American Express and could use a good result to improve his points standing (currently 162nd). Follow their progress here: https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2022/zurich-classic-of-new-orleans/leaderboard.html

Also, Hoge's opening birdie: https://www.pgatour.com/video/2022/...ie-on-no--1-in-round-1-at-zurich-classic.html
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
TCU women begin play in the Big 12 Championship on Friday at the Golf Club at Houston Oaks in Hockley. They'll be off in the second wave of teams, starting at 9 a.m., alongside Texas Tech and Iowa State.

The Frogs project to be right in the middle of the 9-team field. TCU finished 6th last year and 4th in 2019, when Sabrina Iqbal made the all-tourney team as a freshman.

TCU is playing Iqbal, Macnab, Lau, King and Pacheco. If TCU can get a combined three rounds of 74 or better from King and Pacheco, they should be in good shape.

Follow scoring here: https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=24318
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Caitlyn Macnab holds the first-round lead at the Big 12 Championships, shooting a 3-under 68. She's one of four players in red figures.

Trinity King almost joined her; she was 2-under through 15, but a shaky finish left her with a 73--still good for T12 and one of the three strong rounds I said TCU would need from the 4/5 slot.

Overall the Frogs are 4th on a bunched leaderboard where the top four teams are all within 4 shots of each other. TCU looked sluggish early, then took the lead during a five-hole stretch where they went -7. The tough finishing stretch set them back a bit, but they are in good position.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Hoge and Barjon with a couple of wayward drives down the stretch in New Orleans doom their chances of making the cut. They shoot 73 in alt-shot.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Elsewhere in the pros, Hayden Springer is T11 going into the weekend at the Brazil Open (o Aberto do Brasil se prefere Português).

Julien Brun needed a good round to make the cut at the Handa Championship in Spain and found himself on 59 watch after going -7 through 10 holes on the par-70 Infinitum Lakes Course. Then he ran into trouble, but he hung on to make the cut on the number.

Sanna Nuutinen gets an LPGA start this week and is doing well in L.A.; she is T17, just 4 off the lead through 36 at Wilshire.
 
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JogginFrog

Active Member
Tough day for scoring yesterday in Hocksley. Texas took charge of the tournament, and Oklahoma State moved up to second; everybody else had a bunch of scores in the mid-to-upper 70s.

Caitlyn Macnab is in third place overall at +2 for the tournament after a 77 yesterday. She's five back of the lead.

If you had told me Trinity King would be in the individual top-10 on Day 3, I'd have bet that the Frogs were no worse than third. Trinity is T10--so good to see her playing well--but the Frogs are in fifth. The course doesn't seem to suit Sabrina Iqbal's eye. She has yet to make a birdie through 44 holes.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Edit: Caitlyn Macnab finishes T3 at the Big 12 Championships, matching TCU's best individual finish since joining the Big 12 (Kortnie Maxoutopoulis finished T3 in 2015).

Trinity King just missed making the all-tournament team with a T11 finish.

Lois Lau had TCU's low round of the day (71). Frogs finished fifth as a team.

The TCU women are expected to qualify for the NCAA tournament; field will be announced on Wednesday (3p Central, Golf Channel).
 
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JogginFrog

Active Member
Hayden Springer with a T5 finish in Brazil yesterday for some much-needed points on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

The TCU men kick off the Big 12 conference tournament at Whispering Pines in Trinity this a.m. It's 72 holes, with 36 today and 18 tomorrow and Wednesday. Frogs are last off in the first round, starting just after 8:30 alongside K-State. Follow scoring here.

Not a lot to play for except pride, but that can be a lot, so here's hoping the Frogs make a good showing. Coach has stirred the lineup a little, going with Laussot, Berzina, Frimodt, Gums and Massey. Not sure if he's taking anyone along as a potential sub, which is allowed in this event.

What's interesting about Celli missing the lineup for the first time this spring is that he's the only Frog (other than Caitlyn Macnab) who has played a competitive round this season at Whispering Pines, representing Italy in The Spirit Amateur in the fall. His 79-83-71 performance may not have inspired confidence.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Whispering Pines is doing a good job separating teams. First-round results are nearly in the books (stray last-hole scores from WVU and ISU haven't posted), and the four top-10 teams are all clustered nicely between -2 and -7. Then there's a big gap to the next tier of 3 teams at +11 and +12, which includes TCU (74-74-76-76). No Frogs playing great; none playing terrible. TCU had to restart this a.m. on the late-hole stretch that includes 2 of the 4 hardest holes for scoring, and they lost most of their strokes to par there in the early a.m.

Second round underway; will be interesting to see if they try to start round 3 late afternoon.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
TCU men are playing well in the second round at the Big 12 Championships. They made the turn at -3, which led the field, albeit on the easier nine, and are now -5 for the round. All five players are +1 or better, which gives them some margin. While they are still a ways back of the top 4, they've gotten some separation from the other teams in the field, picking up 15 shots on Kansas, K-State and Iowa State.

Individually, Gustav Frimodt is T10 at even par.
 
TCU kinda in 'tweener land. Comfortably in fifth behind the #1, #2, #5 and #9 teams in the country, but not in any position to close the gap in the final round. They held their own against all of them today. The rest of the field fell way back. Good showing today by the Frogs if they close out the last few holes at around even par.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen a team in the middle of a field with no team within 12 shots on either side. Hope the Frogs find ways to keep themselves engaged, but if they are still trying to get in 72 holes, they may not have time to think about it.

Yesterday Berzina and Gums birdied the risk-reward 14th while the other 3 guys made par. Today, Berzina and Gums doubled it...while the other 3 guys made par. It's tempting to cut the dogleg there, but the price of not making is a re-tee. Through two days the hole has given up more birdies than either back-nine par 5, but it has also produced 7 doubles and 6 "others."

Edit: Tournament has been scaled back to 54 holes. Frogs are paired with Kansas in the first wave off on Wednesday.
 
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