Tiaan Diedericks became a Panther this academic year, and in less than a year has put his name in the history books of the programs tournament winners.
The team was playing in Fleetwood, PA at the Moselem Cup.
“Going into the tournament, my game was feeling good, and I was confident I had a good chance at winning,” Diedericks said.
On day one of the two-day event, Diedericks shot +1, putting him in second place going into the second day of play.
“Putting was the best part of my game on day one, and I was able to keep the ball in the fairway,” Diedericks said. “I felt like I was in contention and was confident that I could bring a trophy back to Ferrum.”
After day one, which brought rain to Moselem Springs Golf Course, day two brought winds up to 40 mph.
In the tough conditions, Diedericks found himself bogeying eight of the first 14 holes, including six in a row from 9-14.
“Conditions were tough, and I knew that the rest of the field would struggle as well. I just kept my head down and kept playing my game,” he said. “I just tried to finish strong and push the players behind me and force them to make the mistakes in the windy conditions.”
Diedericks finished his second round with par, birdie, birdie, par.
He shot +6 in his second round, and +7 for the tournament.
Following his final round, Diedericks had to wait for the players behind him to finish before he found out he was the tournament winner.
“It was nerve wracking before I knew that I had won, as we sat in the clubhouse waiting on the rest of the players to finish, but once I knew that I won I was relieved,” Diedericks said. “This gives me a lot of confidence, and the game still feels good. I hope to give it a run at ODACs. I would like to say I couldn’t have done it with the support of my teammates and Coach (Elam) Ruff.”
Ruff was proud of Diedericks.
“Tiaan did a great job of keeping the ball in play off the tee and giving himself par and birdie opportunities. Tiaan is an outstanding putter, so if he provides himself opportunities to score, he will always compete at a high level,” Ruff said. “The weather conditions were far from ideal, and it was a tough course in a lot of aspects, but his poise outweighed a lot of the challenges.”
This hasn’t been the first challenge Diedericks has faced since transferring from Garden City Community College in the Kansas City area and joining the golf team in the fall.
“Tiaan joined the team this year a little after the first semester started and unfortunately got considerably sick shortly after his arrival. Those instances provided a tough transition, so it was and up and down first semester for him both on and off the course,” Ruff said. “As a team, we always talk about how what you do in the classroom directly correlates to what you do on the course, and that proved true early on.
The spring has been a different story for Diedericks.
“Tiaan has blossomed with his academic work, and it has trickled down to his golf game,” Ruff said. “His focus and hard work are pillars of character, and it is amazing to see him reap the rewards.”
Ruff added, Diedericks’ win means the program is moving into the right direction, and the future for the golf program is bright.
“Tiaan’s win proved to the guys that winning is available to them. As we transition to Division II next year, we have the largest class in Ferrum’s golf history coming in, and we will have the largest roster in the history of the program, so we can’t wait to see what the future holds,” Ruff said.
Diedericks and the rest of the golf team will be preparing for the ODAC tournament, spanning from April 28-30 in Greensboro, NC at Forest Oaks Country Club.
