From left to right: Dylan VanderVeer, Blake Hathcoat, Michael Slesinski, Jonathan Curran

Men's Golf 8/21/2020 11:26:00 AM

GOLF | Gaels Playing Safely, Improving Over Summer

MORAGA, Calif. — While much of the sports world has come to a screeching halt this summer, the Saint Mary's golf team has been fortunate enough to continue business as usual for the most part and have stayed busy playing in amatuer tournaments. SMCGaels.com caught up with three Gaels - Blake Hathcoat, Dylan VanderVeer, and Jonathan Curran - to see what they've been up to over the last few months and get their opinions on the state of golf moving forward.

Hathcoat will be returning for his fifth season this fall after having his senior year cut short by COVID-19. The Fresno native played in prestigious tournaments all across the country this summer, ranging from North Carolina (North and South Amateur) to Oregon (US Amateur) to Illinois (Western Amateur). Locally, he competed at the Billy Bell Four Ball tournament in Modesto and won the event with fellow Gael, Michael Slesinski.

"It was definitely a different feel but it was awesome being able to play tournament golf again," said Hathcoat on competing at these events during the pandemic. "Every tournament had different protocols in place, such as not touching flagsticks or raking bunkers, and there was a complete bubble with testing at the US Amatuer."

"We're all really excited to play again as a team as soon as we can," Hathcoat added about his anticipation to return to Saint Mary's this fall.

VanderVeer will also be returning for his fifth season this fall after spending the 2019-20 campaign as a redshirt junior. Similar to Hathcoat, VanderVeer has traveled around California and Arizona for various summer tourneys, including the Silverado Amateur in Napa at the same course that hosts the Safeway Open on the PGA Tour.

"The local golf associations from each tournament have done a great job of keeping things safe and following the CDC guidelines for COVID," he had to say when asked about golfing during this unprecedented period. "I have always felt extremely safe in all of these tournaments as they've eliminated paper scorecards so that we don't have to touch anything besides our phones."

Aside from physical health, VanderVeer mentioned how being able to play his sport has also helped him mentally get through these tough times. "The golf course has been a great place to go for a mental safe haven and I feel like it has been very important to my teammates and I to have a place to feel some normalcy."

After competing in seven events last season, VanderVeer said he's learned a lot over this summer and hopes it'll propel his game to the next level in his final season. "I am getting a lot of good experience from being near the lead in tournaments and learning how to handle myself under that type of pressure."

Last but not least is Jonathan Curran. Curran redshirted last season, his first in Moraga, and will look to make an impact on head coach Scott Hardy's roster this year. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native played in tournaments across northern California and his home state of Arizona this summer including the Silverado Amateur where he finished tied for 38th.

"Competing on a PGA Tour course was a great experience and showed me which parts of my game I need to develop more to become the best golfer I can," said Curran.

The redshirt freshman agreed with his teammates that he's never felt unsafe at any of his summer tournaments and is happy to do whatever it takes to get back on the course. "I love to compete and if there is any chance we can compete as a team in the fall, I know that my teammates and I will meet the required safety measures to be ready to go," he added.

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