BY Chandler St. Louis

Staff Reporter

The Central Washington University Golf Club had two golfers compete at the Spring 2014 National Championship in Sussex County, N.J. last weekend.

Juniors Austin Key and Brad Donahue represented the Wildcats at the prestigious Crystal Springs Golf Club.

The championship was a two-day tournament in which the participants played two different courses, Wild Turkey and Ballyowen. The field consisted of 27 teams and 223 players from all over the country.

Donahue opened up the tournament firing a 73 in the first round, which left him in a tie for 18th after day one. He played the Wild Turkey course first, which is known as the tougher  of the two golf courses.

Donahue shot a +1 on the front nine for a 37 and +1 on the back for a 36. He had two birdies on the round, giving him a good start to the tournament.

On the second day, conditions were much worse, with the temperature dropping below 50 degrees and high winds. Donahue shot a 78 on the Ballyowen course, which pushed him up the leader board, earning him a tie for seventh place.

“The conditions were much worse today but I continued to hit the ball well and finished strong on the back nine,” Donahue said.

After a rough start on the front nine shooting a 41, he turned it around on the back nine shooting a 37. The junior continued to remain focused and did not let the bad weather get to him.

Key started his tournament on the Ballyowen course shooting an 81. Key turned around his play and shot an impressive 75 on day two. Where scores were significantly higher on day two, Key remained calm and significantly moved up the leader board for a tie in 38th place.

“After my score on the first day, all the pressure was off for my second round which allowed me to play well,” Key said.

Both Donahue and Key were late additions to the golf club but quickly made an impact.

During Keys’ first tournament with the team, he fired the second lowest score in the field. Donahue’s biggest contribution to the team is his consistency. Donahue continues to post scores in the 70s to lead the Wildcats.

The golf club recently joined the National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) which made the team and players eligible for the Spring 2014 National Championship.

The team competed in two regional tournaments this year against Eastern Washington University and the University of Idaho.

The Wildcats won the first tournament of the year while Idaho finished second. With a National Championship appearance on the line, Idaho beat Central in the second tournament and won the tie breaker, earning a spot at nationals.

Although the Wildcats didn’t qualify as a team, two Wildcat players were still invited.