Golf sets the tone for a successful season
On Sept. 2, Utah State Men’s Golf opened its season at home hosting in-state rival Weber State at the Logan Country Club. Returning the majority of last year’s squad, the team is set for a successful season.
The seven Aggies that competed were John Cook, Cole Enlow, Josh Pehrson, Julio Arronte Sanchez, Luis Gerardo Cantu, Esteban Jaramillo and Ashton McArthur. Of the seven, only freshman Ashton McArthur was not on the 2022-2023 roster.
The annual two-day USU-WSU cup has left the Aggies disappointed for the past two seasons. The Wildcats defeated the Aggies 12.5-3.5 in 2021 and 11.5-4.5 in 2022. This year, the Aggies were ready to avenge themselves.
The tournament was played in the famed Ryder Cup style, which is played between Team USA and Team Europe. The event begins with four alternate-shot matches where two Aggies are paired up against two Wildcats. Each team plays one ball, alternating taking the shot until the hole is complete.
The “best ball” portion of the contest follows, still in a two vs. two format, where each golfer plays their own ball, keeping the lowest score of the two.
The last segment of a Ryder Cup-style event is played in a singles format, where golfers from both teams are paired up one vs. one. The player with the lower score on each hole wins the hole.
The Aggies opened the tournament by taking three of the four alternate shot matches. They stayed hot, winning three of four best-ball matches to lead the Wildcats 6-2 at the conclusion of the first day of play.
“I don’t think we hit as good as we normally hit,” head coach Dean Johansen said. “But we chipped and putt really well. These kids were so good around the greens, and it’s just so hard to beat somebody that can chip and putt the golf ball, so I was really happy the first day.”
Even with the Wildcats taking four of the seven singles matches, the Aggies came out on top with a 9-6 victory.
“The second day, Weber State came out firing at us. They’ve got some good players, so we kind of got knocked back on our heels right out of the gate,” Johansen said. “I think we were losing most every match at the turn on the individual, so some of the kids had to really step up on the back nine and even in the last three or four holes.”
Luis Gerardo Cantu looks through his clubs during his match against Weber State on Sept. 3, 2023. (Photo/ Heidi Bingham)
The match that mathematically won it for the Aggies was junior Esteban Jaramillo’s 2-up decision over Weber’s Isaac Burger. Burger was up two strokes with eight holes to play, but Jaramillo was able to come from behind to cement the win for the Aggies.
“I was struggling a little bit, my putter went cold. I wasn’t doing very good,” Jaramillo said. “In my mind, I said, ‘I have to do something. I have to turn it around.’”
Jaramillo was the most consistent golfer for the Aggies last year. He played 28 rounds, more than any other Aggie golfer, averaging 72.36 strokes per round.
“Esteban is a phenomenal talent, and I think I would say probably one of the strongest mental game guys I’ve ever coached,” Johansen said. “He was our best player last year and looks to be one of the front runners obviously this year as well.”
As a native of Bogotá, Colombia, Jaramillo said the hardest thing about moving to Cache Valley is the weather.
“I’ve never lived through a winter, so that was hard,” Jaramillo said.
The high praise from Johansen says a lot, knowing how many players he has coached in his career. This season is his 23rd as head coach after taking the position in 2000.
Another standout Aggie who won his singles match on Sunday was freshman Ashton McArthur. McArthur is a four-year letterwinner from Madison High School in Rexburg, Idaho. He shot a combined 41 under par his senior year en route to a 5A state title.
McArthur has been able to continue to play at a high level while also making the same life adjustments every college freshman makes.
“It’s a big adjustment. It’s like you go from being the main guy in your high school and being by far the best, and then having to come here and prove yourself,” McArthur said. “Qualifying was a little nerve-racking for me, just because I wanted to travel, and it didn’t matter what I’d done in the past.”
Johansen says the coaching staff has been impressed with McArthur’s quick adjustment to college life.
“That’s a pretty big challenge for us as coaches to get somebody out of high school. Usually, their game takes a little bit of a small dip their freshman year because they’re trying to figure out how to balance their time,” Johansen said. “So far, [Ashton] has done an outstanding job of figuring out when to get his personal stuff done and when to get his school stuff done and to get his golf stuff done. I think he’s done a great job.”
The Aggies look to build on their momentum Sept. 10-12 at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational versus the Air Force Academy. The team heads to Fresno State on Sept. 25 before playing in Somis, California and Monterrey, Mexico to round out the fall season.