By: Timea Horvath
Photo by: @simpsonu_golf on Instagram
Simpson University’s golf team, even though rarely talked about, has a unique story.
This year, 11 out of the 12 students on the school’s golf team are international. Almost all of them come from different countries. The nations represented are Mexico, Kenya, Canada, England, Spain, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany. Such a vast variety of nationalities on one team has its advantages and disadvantages.
“I have had trouble myself understanding their accents sometimes, but they all tell awesome stories and bring pieces of their culture here,” said Eric Norris, the team’s graduate assistant.
Despite the possible cultural differences, Simpson’s golf team seems to be incredibly well integrated. Most of the guys on the team are roommates. This means that not only do they play competitive golf with each other, they also share their living space.
The team is happy to share the multiple successes they have achieved this academic year. During the weekend of Oct. 9-11, the team competed in their first tournament of the season, the Oregon Tech invite at the Running Y Ranch Resort course in Klamath Falls, OR.
“Jaxon Moon was five under par at some point in his round and settled with a two under par 70. Dean Knight has stepped up as a freshman as well and played great,” Norris said.
According to the Simpson University Athletics website, the men finished in third place. Jaxon Moon was leading the way for the Red Hawks with a 3rd place finish. Dean Knight and Felipe Ferreira finished with 8th and 9th places, respectively, out of 27. The women also finished the tournament strong. Michelle Euan, a sophomore, took 11th place, and Brie Memeo finished in 15th place.
Managing such a multinational team may sound very stressful and hard to some people. Coach Mike Phillips heard some of those concerns while he was recruiting the current team. The biggest one was that most high schools abroad do not have sports teams. Thus, Simpson University would be their first time of playing golf on a team. However, despite all the possible challenges, Phillips decided to bring this unique team into reality. And he doesn’t regret it. According to Phillips, his favorite aspect of coaching golf is that you always win as a team. This means that the players are rooting for their teammates to do as well as possible, which creates a deep bond between them.
“Golf may not be the most exciting sport, but all of our players are excited to play for Simpson and represent the school well respectfully and professionally,” Norris said.
The golf players are currently training for their next tournament which will take place between Nov. 6-8 in Rocklin, CA.