Eastern Michigan continues its climb by contending at National Golf Invitational
For a coach trying to grow a women's golf program, having a full dance card in May is an excellent sign of progress.
Last week, Eastern Michigan sophomore Savannah de Bock became the first player in program history to compete in an NCAA postseason event (though she fell short of advancing out of her NCAA Regional). Two days later, the rest of her team teed it up at the National Golf Invitational. And despite being without de Bock – who has been a top-50 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings but who is ineligible for the NGI this week after playing an NCAA postseason event – Eastern Michigan is contending.
The Eagles' round of 3-over 291 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona, left them at the top of the leaderboard. As conditions got tougher in Saturday's second round, Eastern Michigan lost ground to Santa Clara and, at 22 over, now trails that team by 10 shots entering the second round.
Oral Roberts is third at 25 over and North Texas is another two shots behind that in fourth.
Scores: National Golf Invitational
'I think for us, we haven't led at any point this year after a day, so I think maybe being in a lead, it's a learning experience, it's something our program has to learn, not just (the players) but the entire program,' Brewer said.
Brewer, who did previous coaching stints at Georgia and USC, can't see any downside to getting these extra days of competition at the end of the season, or the weeks of preparation that led up to them.
'Why we did it, it's almost two or three weeks of practice with your team, with your players and just a chance to continue to grow them, build them and train them for when you get to NCAA regionals, they've already experienced being on campus without schoolwork or traveling during finals – things like that,' Brewer said.
For his team in particular, the National Golf Invitational offered a chance for Brewer to look down the lineup, past de Bock. Junior Angelica Holman leads the team and the tournament after rounds of 69-74 at Southern Dunes. Holman, however, has entered the transfer portal.
'You'll see her name in the portal and it's a mutual thing just because there's some number issues on our side that it works better,' Brewer said. 'I don't want to lose her but at the same time, she is showing why she is one of the better players in the country and probably will have a lot of interest from multiple schools. I'm happy for her because she is a very good person.'
Brewer also pointed to Julianna Go, a sophomore who Brewer has watched position herself into a leadership role over the past month.
As he continues on his mission to grow the program at Eastern Michigan, Brewer will bring in three freshmen in the fall plus a transfer student from the NAIA. In his first year at Eastern Michigan, Brewer lined up a competitive, coast-to-coast schedule. He is an innovative coach looking to build a cold-weather mid-major program into a powerhouse, and a fantastic opportunity lies before him.
Last May, GameAbove, whose chairman is Eastern Michigan alum Keith Stone, announced a $6.5 million commitment to the university's golf programs. The gift brought GameAbove's total commitment to the Eagles golf teams to more than $14.5 million.
Postseason appearances show Brewer is moving the program in the right direction, despite being only a year in. But even by his assessment, there's more work to be done. Asked to reflect on his first year with the team, Brewer noted that he will make some different scheduling decisions in future seasons after the learning curve that the brutal weather of December, January and February brought.
He's also a big believer in coaching those around him in the athletic department about what it takes to build an elite golf program that's in the same breath as, say, Michigan State or Purdue, two well-known and highly successful cold-weather golf schools.
'This event does help that along the way,' Brewer said of the NGI.
Brewer knows his team is by no means out of it heading into Sunday's final round. Eastern Michigan is leading the field in birdies through 36 holes, and a 10-shot deficit is not insurmountable for a team that knows how to score.
'We have the firepower. Everyone on our team has broken par this year,' Brewer said. 'It's a golf course you can break par and it's really – it's going to tell me a lot about them as individuals.'
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