Flames golf team prepares for second half of 2019-2020 season after strong fall play

With the spring season beginning in February, the Liberty Flames men’s golf team is looking to carry over their strong start from the fall. 

The Flames began the 2019-20 season with a win in their first tournament of the season. The Flames went to Harris, Michigan, Sep. 1-2, and placed first at Island Resort Collegiate Invitational.

The Flames hope to build on their momentum entering the spring. For sophomore golfer Jonathan Yaun, this Flames team can continue to improve with a strong mentality and faith in God.

“I worked on my yardages and swing lengths,” Yaun said. “But mainly, my spiritual walk with God has been growing as this season has been coming along. The more I trust in God and give it to him every event, I believe that my golf game will improve.”

Last season at the Men’s Golf National Championships held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Flames finished 20th in the nation. Head Coach Jeff Thomas said his team has been doing well, but there are still some goals he would like to see them achieve.

“We want to see the team get better, every tournament we want to get better as we go out,” Thomas said. “As far as our overall goals, we would like to improve our ranking, we would like to get back up into the top 25 where we finished last year.”

Consistency is one of the most important parts of golfing. The Flames have about two months between their last tournament in the fall and their first spring tournament. Resting the body and mind is imperative, but for French junior golfer Alexandre Fuchs, continuing to compete and practice was a part of his routine during the break.

“During the break, I played a tournament in Miami, and that was good preparation for the season,” Fuchs said. “After that I came back home — I took a little break for a couple days. Then, for over two weeks, I played golf every day, practicing and doing physical progressions with my coach back in France.”

The Flames will be making their way south to compete in their first tournament of the spring season. Thomas’ main goal for his team going into the tournament is to be as prepared as possible.

“We want to try to finish in the top three in every tournament this spring,” Thomas said. “But our main objective is to go and play to the best of our ability and make sure we don’t make dumb mistakes. It’s really easy to do early in the season.”

The Flames will compete in the Sea Best Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Feb. 3-4. The Flames competed in this same tournament last season, where they finished fourth out of 14 teams.

Adamson-Olaotan is a sports reporter. Follow him on Twitter.