TOLEDO, Ohio – The Rocket men's golf team registered the best performance of its 2019-20 season at Auburn's Tiger Invitational on March 8-10. Two days later, all NCAA spring sports were canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
 
"At our last tournament at Auburn I could see growth, feel momentum building, and had good thoughts about where our team might be in a month or two," Head Coach Jeff Roope said about his squad's 13-over par 877 that surpassed two teams ranked in Golfstat's Top 50. "The team did a good job of beginning to lay a solid foundation on which our future teams could build upon. Without that type of foundation, our successes would likely only be temporary, and that is not our goal."
 
Toledo opened its season last fall with one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Rockets faced five Top 25 teams at Duke's Rod Meyers Invitational, nine 2019 NCAA postseason participants at their Inverness Intercollegiate and five Top 50 squads at Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Classic.
 
"We threw this team right into the deep end in our first tournament at Duke, and for a while they struggled to keep their head above water," Roope said. "Playing against teams like Duke, Wake Forest, Louisville, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Auburn, Texas Tech, LSU and more is a heck of a way to start the season. You either learn what it takes to succeed or decide golf at that level is not for you."
 
Toledo worked hard during its winter workouts and hit the ground running at the start of its spring schedule at the Florida Gators Invitational (Feb. 15-16) and Houston's Border Olympics (Feb. 24-25).
 
"During the off-season it was pretty evident that some of the guys really got the concept that if they wanted to play with the best they would need to prepare like the best," Roope said. "In our first spring event at Florida, our guys really started to grow, understand what they were capable of and get their short-game legs underneath them. The Border Olympics gave us a chance to play a different style of golf in dusty & windy conditions, and they proved that they were ready to compete."
 
Seniors Nate Thomson, Grant Godfrey and Rasmus Broholt Lind paced a balanced Rocket squad with 74.3, 74.5 and 74.8 stroke averages for the season, respectively. Sophomore David Amm posted a 75.0 scoring mark, while classmate Muhammed Afif Mohd Fathi finished with a 75.9 average. Mohd Fathi ended his season on a high note by carding a career-low one-over par 217 at the Tiger Invitational en route to a career-best 17^th-place finish.
 
"I feel bad for our seniors who had their season cut short. But when one door closes I firmly believe another one opens up," Roope said. "Grant, Rasmus and Nate are firmly on the road to golf success."