In his first tournament on the Ohio State men’s golf team’s starting lineup, freshman Max Rosenthal proved he has the ability to lead his team.
The Eden Prairie, Minn., native helped the Buckeyes finish first in the Windon Memorial on Monday.
Rosenthal, who tied for eighth individually after shooting a 6-over 219, said he was not surprised that he led the team at the tournament in Glencoe, Ill. because of the hard work and time he put in perfecting his game this season.
“Obviously it’s a big confidence booster and I’m excited that it happened, but I’m not surprised because I have been practicing so hard,” Rosenthal said. “I played well in the first tournament I played in as an individual and I knew I was capable of doing it again.”
Fellow teammate, sophomore Grant Weaver, said Rosenthal’s demeanor on the course is one of his biggest strengths.
“I think Max is just calm and collected and he is just not scared of the big stage,” Weaver said. “He struggled a little bit early on but he was able to bounce back.”
Coach Donnie Darr said Rosenthal started off scared but turned things around in the second round.
“I think the big thing for Max was he was nervous starting his first tournament playing in the starting lineup for us,” Darr said. “He was a little uncomfortable early in the round and had a hard time getting started, but after that he settled right in.”
Darr attributed Rosenthal’s success to knowing his boundaries.
“The big thing is Max knows who he is as a player and doesn’t try to do things he isn’t capable of. He does what he does well,” Darr said.
Darr also commented on the freshman’s biggest individual strengths.
“He hits it straight and he putts it very well and that’s a good combination,” Darr said. “He’s not the longest hitter on our team, but when you are in the fairway all the way and you are a good putter, it makes it pretty easy to hover around par.”
Even though Rosenthal had a great start to his season, he said he will work on his biggest weakness from this week’s tournament.
“Definitely my chipping, that was probably my worst part of my game this week,” Rosenthal said.
OSU’s next tournament is scheduled to be the Jack Nicklaus Invitational in Dublin, Ohio, on Oct. 8-9.