Winning is never easy. Steve Conley is the first person to tell you this, even though he is close to 200 victories in his coaching career.
Conley’s career win number 159 was achieved at the Golfweek October Classic. His Methodist team won the team championship by 17 shots after going 9 under par for 54 holes on the Raven Golf Club at Sandestin, Florida. It was partly due to familiarity, as Methodist hosted the 2013 national championship at this course and is a regular at Golfweek’s Sandestin tournament. But it was also revenge.
Earlier in the month, Methodist lost a game at the Tartan Invitational held at Laurel Valley Country Club, Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Emory overtook the Monarchs after they had built a large lead.
Conley stated, “We were playing well and Laurel was a difficult course. We just got sloppy in the back nine while Emory got hot.” It was a perfect hurricane.
Methodist had only two days to focus on Sandestin. Conley kept his three first-team All-Americans – Andre Chi Henry Angier Cooper Hrabak – on the field while substituting two other players. He watched as his team won in another difficult arena. Conley said that his team is not clueless. It’s not always a lack in confidence or execution.
He said, “We are a good team but there are so many other teams that can compete in D3 right now. You have to bring it every week. And you have to be able finish the game.” “I’m surprised today that we were able to pull away from them because they are quality teams. My players kept the pedal down. “I think they didn’t like to see a repeat of last week.”
Methodist finished the 54-hole tournament with a 9-under-par total, including a 7-under-par final-day round. This put them ahead of Illinois Wesleyan. Lynchburg was third, with a final round of 6 under. Emory, in fourth, was two shots back.
Cameron Cappuzzo (a Methodist senior) won the individual title with 10 under par after completing the tournament by shooting rounds of 5 under par 66.
Cameron Cappuzzo, a Methodist
Conley has been leading Methodist for more than 30 years. He has won 13 titles at the national level, including one in 2022. Conley has had to find an edge in D3 golf and all other divisions over the past 30 years. Conley believes that success will always be in the hands of the players. However, over the years he has had to allow them to play more aggressively.
He said, “I had to let them be more aggressive at many places where before we were a bit more conservative.” “I’d also say that there is a slight shift in mindset. I believe that the younger children are different from what they were 10, 20, years ago. Be firm but supportive at the same time. Encouragement, encouragement. “For me, when the situation is right, we have to be aggressive, tough, and keep fighting.”
The mindset, I believe, is the real difference. You’re going beat if you don’t shoot under par even on your best days. It all comes down to this. “That’s the mentality you have, right?”
Conley’s men must be able to endure a bad day. This was brought home by the narrow defeat at Laurel Valley.
Conley has always placed a high value on team culture. No matter who is in the bus, it’s important that everyone be there together. This is especially important for this year’s team, which features 10 men who played in A Team events the last two years. This is a rare depth of players, and it makes it important for Methodist to be competitive.
He said: “It is a testament to our upperclassmen who set the example, and to all of the boys on our team that buy into it.” It makes me proud to be a coach when I see the boys behave in this way.
