Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf coach Mark Guhne continues to work on preparing for the spring portion of the 2015-16 season. But he also must keep an eye on 2016-17 and with that in mind, he’s added two to that roster.
“Recruiting is the life blood of a program,” Guhne shared. “I’m excited about Phillip and Oliver and the impact they can have on our program. You are always excited on signing day, but both of these young men are talented, and I think they are great fits to our returning roster next year.”
The duo are high school senior Oliver Simonsen and junior college transfer Phillip Hickam.
Both are accustomed to playing for championship-level programs.
“That’s important,” Guhne added. “Both expect to win. They come from a background where, if their team doesn’t win, it’s a disappointment.”
Simonsen is a Chattanooga native and son of Honors Course head professional Henrik Simonsen. Oliver prepped at Baylor leading it to the 2015 TSSAA Division II-AA State Championship. He finished second in the event with a 3-under 141 turning in an opening 72 before a 3-under 69 final round.
He captured the 2013 Black Creek Junior Classic and was runner-up at the 2014 Under Armour/Scott Stallings Championship. Simonsen boasts a fourth-place at the 2013 SJGT Tournament of Champions and eighth at the 2014 AJGA Preseason Junior at Pine Island.
Hickam is a returning All-American at the junior college power Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He’s currently the seventh-ranked player in NJCAA Division II while MGCCC rates second.
A season ago, he tied for second at the NJCAA National Championship. He recently finished fourth at the 2015 MACJC Tournament and also has top 5s at the 2013 AJGA Junior at Southwind (T2), 2013 U.S. Junior Qualifier (T3) and 2013 TSSAA Division II-A (4th) at Northpoint Christian.
The Mocs return to the tee Feb. 22-23 at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate in Mobile, Ala. News, features, live scoring and more are available on GoMocs.com and by following @GoMocsMGLF on twitter.