New Faces: MSUB Men’s Golf Freshmen Caleb Stetzner and Garrett Woodin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, April 21, 2017 New Faces: MSUB Men’s Golf Freshmen Caleb Stetzner and Garrett Woodin

Two of MSUB’s top golfers this season are freshmen Garrett Woodin and Caleb Stetzner, who have grown close as teammates and friends in their first year with the Yellowjackets.

MSUB SPORTS – It didn’t take long for Montana State University Billings men’s golf freshman Garrett Woodin to post his first-career sub-70 round.

In just the third event of his college career, the Billings West High School graduate carded a 3-under-par 69 at the Rocky Mountain College Fall Invite, turning in his scorecard after the first round at Yegen Golf Club with his confidence booming.

With live scoring during the event, Woodin had an idea that he wasn’t the only Yellowjacket playing his way to a historic round. By the time he had finished, three of his teammates, including fellow freshman Caleb Stetzner, had even lower scores, and the team set a school record with a single-round total of 269. “For all five players to go below 70 was pretty

cool, and not many teams are able to do that,” said Woodin.

“Everybody played really consistently and made a lot of good shots, and it was fun to be part of.”

Stetzner had a season-best 67 in the record setting round, a strong start to what has turned into the top scoring average on the team at 73.4 and the fourth-best mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Hailing from Anaconda, Mont., Stetnzer was familiar with Woodin before becoming his roommate at MSUB. “Being roommates with Caleb definitely helped because we have really similar schedules and before school started we already knew that we had one common point of interest,” Woodin said. “That definitely made everything a lot easier.”

Stetzner carried an impressive resume into his collegiate career, winning the Montana Class A title in 2015 and totaling 13 tournament victories throughout his prep years. Learning the game from his father Andy and Mark Torney, the head golf professional in Anaconda, Stetzner got competitive with the game in eighth grade. “I have been around some pretty good golf minds growing up, which definitely helped me to get adjusted to the college level,” Stetzner said.

Carrying ambitions of pursuing a professional career after his college days, Stetzner will continue his assault on the MSUB record books for the time being. With the GNAC Championships standing as the final tournament of the year for Stetzner and the Yellowjackets, he enters the event with the second-lowest season scoring average in school history.

He is just 0.4 strokes behind the all-time mark, held by Jake Hedge (73.00, 2014-15).

Freshman Garrett Woodin enters Monday’s GNAC Championships with a season scoring average of 76.4 strokes per round.

“Caleb has had a tremendous year for us,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “He has been our top player overall as far as scoring, and he is also very humble and cares a lot about how his team does too. He has already established himself as one of the top freshmen in our region, and if he can make a higher percentage of his birdie putts, then he has a chance to golf very consistently under par throughout his career.”

While Stetzner cited the comfort of remaining in Montana among the factors leading him to MSUB, the transition into the Yellowjacket program couldn’t have been more natural for Garrett. “Having a parent working at my school has certainly helped, and it gives you a sense of comfort,” the freshman commented referring to having his father as a coach. “MSUB has always stood out to me, and as the golf program got better and better over the years it became more appealing to me. Overall it was an easy choice.”

Stetzner currently holds the second-lowest season scoring average in MSUB history at 73.4 strokes per round.

Woodin admitted that it took him awhile to get acclimated to the competition at the college level, with four of his first five rounds at 80 strokes or higher. In the 17 total rounds since Woodin’s 69 however, his highest score was 80 and he most recently notched his personal season-low score of 68 in MSUB’s most recent tournament. More than a third of those rounds by Woodin have been at even-par or lower, as he has consistently scored in the 70s.

“I always believed that he would be a better collegiate golfer than a highschool golfer, because he has a good, strong fundamental game and as he’s gotten older, he has hit the ball further,” Kevin Woodin commented on his son. “Garrett has had a great spring so far, and he is one of our most improved golfers. Over the last couple weeks he is really coming into his own. He is playing with a lot more confidence now, and I’m hoping that translates into a great GNAC Championships for him.”

The freshman teammates each recognized the strengths of the other’s game, with different strong suits contributing to their similarly-impressive seasons. “Caleb is probably the best putter I’ve ever played with,” said Garrett.

One of Woodin’s strengths as a player lies within his ability to hit the ball long off the tee.

“Garrett’s drive is really good,” said Stetzner. “He is consistently in the fairway, which makes it easy for him to have his iron game be on. His game off the tees and his iron play are definitely his biggest strengths.”

Better than expected seasons from MSUB’s two freshmen have bolstered the Yellowjackets as a team, as MSUB is averaging 298.6 strokes per round which is the second-lowest mark in school history. Each player commented that the role models within the team have played a big part in their success, particularly with the leadership of the squad’s seniors Connor Miele and Michael Porter. “Our seniors are really easy to learn from, and Connor is a full-on captain and great leader,” said Garrett. “He is great at organizing everything and is always there for us if we need advice.”

“Mikey and I play golf the same way, and I really look up to him and appreciate him as a leader,” Stetzner commented on Porter. “Connor helped me in my decision to commit to MSUB, as he spoke to me a lot on my visit and was very helpful. Knowing that he would be our captain made it easier for me to commit.”

As the two newest Yellowjackets hit the road for the 2017 GNAC Championships starting Monday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, they do so with lofty goals in their final tournament of the season. Woodin has visions of a top-three finish for the team among the competitive conference field, and explained that his focus will be on putting together three solid rounds.

Stellar on the greens, Stetzner saves strokes with a short game developed well beyond his years.

Stetzner has similar ambitions of a strong finish, and has his senior role models in mind as he prepares for the biggest event of his young college career. “We are looking to send our seniors off the right way, and to finish the season strong,” said Stetzner. “I have never played the course before, but I always go into tournaments with the same mentality: take it one shot at a time. We are peaking at the right time this spring, and I truly believe that we can do something special at the conference tournament this year.”

If nothing else, the experience golfing together has created an inseparable bond between Woodin and Stetzner. On the course, they’ve proven to be two of the brightest young athletes at MSUB. In their coach’s eyes, each is far exceeding expectations. “As far as being two freshmen, they have both just really come into their own and they are a big reason why our team has a chance to make some noise at the conference tournament this year,” said Coach Woodin.

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