Watchlist: Five college golfers that should be on your radar

November 24, 2023 | by Sean Melia of AmateurGolf.com

From first-year players to fifth-year seniors, these players had a strong fall.

The 2023 college fall golf season is in the books. While it seems like the season never really ends or begins once tee shots are hit in September, this time of year allows for a chance to reflect on the season to this point.

Of course, this season hasn't been short on drama with the Spikemark fiasco and a lack of any official rankings to provide snapshots of various parts of the season. Instead, the first rankings were released in early November and still have plenty of flaws to work through.

The popular names like Nick Dunlap, Christo Lamprecht, and Gordon Sargent have done what many expected - won events and compete on a consistent basis. But like any season, different players appear on the radar who might not have been there in August at the start of the season.

Here are five players who had a strong fall and have reason to look forward to the spring season.

Mats Ege - East Tennessee State

Ege is a big reason for ETSU’s solid fall season. He played in five events and didn’t place outside the top six in any of them. He shot 16-under par to win the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate by five shots, helping the team to a 12-shot win. A fifth-year senior, Ege is currently 15th in the PGA Tour U rankings.

Alex Goff - Kentucky

The fifth-year senior sits in 19th place in the PGA Tour U rankings. He was solid throughout the fall, backing up his second place in the SEC Championship last spring. This fall, Goff had three runner-up finishes. Two of those finishes were by the narrowest of margins, losing by one shot in the Folds of Honor Collegiate and the Steelwood Collegiate. It will be a vital spring for Goff as he hopes to climb the PGA Tour U rankings and earn more opportunities at the next level.

Omar Morales - UCLA

The UCLA team enjoyed some success this fall after an exciting summer that included hitting the opening tee shot in the U.S. Open at LACC. Morales, a junior from Mexico, was a big reason for the team’s success. After a tough start in the Husky Invitational, Morales ripped off three strong appearances. He didn’t finish outside the top 5. He shared medalist honors with ETSU’s Algot Kleen in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational after shooting 11-under par for the tournament while also notching a T5 in the Hamptons Invitational and a runner-up finish in the Cal Poly Invitational.

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Luke Powell - UCLA

Powell has made quite an impression this fall. He won the Hamptons Invitational, an event that made news because of Nick Dunlap’s round of 60, which was one lip-out shy of a 59. Powell was undeterred by the Dunlap Blitz and shot 17-under par, beating the U.S. Amateur champion by a shot when he closed with a 68. He opened his college campaign with a third place in the Husky Invitational and then finished the fall season with another third place in the Cal-Poly Invitational.

Herman Wibe Sekne - Purdue

Sekne, a senior from Norway, has been one of the best Boilermakers in history. He earned a selection on PING’s All-American third-team last year. The first Purdue golfer in 21 years to make any PING All-American team. He won his fourth career victory this fall in the Windon Memorial Classic, where he shot 16-under par for the 54-hole event. A fifth place in the season-opening Marquette Intercollegiate and a third in the Purdue Fall Invitational has him in 13th place on the PGA Tour U rankings.

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