Ball State University Athletics
Wayne Denger Set For Senior Season At BSU
March 16, 2007 | Men's Golf
By David Neff
ballstatesports.com
NOTE: The Ball State men's golf team opens its 2007 spring season March 18-20 at the Pinehurst Invitational presented by Gatorade. Live scoring and results are available by clicking here.
Four years ago, Wayne Denger (
Now, four years later as Ball State is about to open its 2007 spring season at the Pinehurst Invitational, Denger has only missed one tournament throughout his four-year career while being one of the most consistent performers for the Cardinals.
Denger was granted a scholarship during the summer before his freshman year when a reappearance of cancer forced fellow Cardinal Justin Cross to leave the team before his senior season.
Cross lost his battle with leukemia in 2005, and Denger and his teammates honor Cross to this day by wearing red “Audience of 1” bracelets in all of their tournaments.
Tragedy struck the
Though his scholarship came through unfortunate circumstances, Denger has honored his fallen teammates with consistent, inspired play throughout his time at
Denger owns the career record-low for a single round at
Denger began playing golf at the age of five or six with his dad. His father played golf for a year at Austin Peay before being drafted by the military, while his uncle was an All-American in golf at Purdue.
“Golf is in my blood,” Denger says.
Growing up, Denger thought he would play basketball, considering his hometown's obsession with the sport. However, when in high school, he realized he did not quite have what it takes to play basketball at the Division I level.
“In the transition from my sophomore to junior year of high school, I started to focus on my golf game more,” Denger adds.
However, his basketball ability was one of the main things that attracted
“He is a great athlete,” Fleck says. “He was a really good basketball player in high school, and from a competitive standpoint,
“His success and athletic ability in another sport were very attractive in recruiting him,” Fleck adds. “His golf ability flew a little bit under the radar since he did not compete in many of the big tournaments during the summer.”
Denger is part of a senior class that has been integral to the Cardinals success over the past four years.
The Cardinals will lose five seniors at the end of this year and their experience is key as the team heads into the spring season with hopes of a MAC Championship.
“Wayne and C.D. (Hockersmith) have been our cornerstone the past four years,” Fleck says. “They are two guys who have virtually played in every tournament since they arrived on campus their freshman year. With that experience, they are certainly looked to as the leaders of this team. Their leadership will be extremely hard to replace next year.”
As Denger has prepared for the spring season, he has been focusing on every part of his game. In particular, he has focused on the mechanics of his swing as well as his putting.
“The past year and a half prior to the fall season, I had become pretty burned out on my game,” Denger says. “There is nothing worse than playing bad golf and traveling, knowing you cannot do any better than 75, 75, 75, for a tournament.
“The thing that keeps me competing is hitting that one good shot. Now that I am finally striking the ball the way I should, I really feel like I could win a tournament this season.”
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While Fleck will certainly miss Denger's presence on the links next year, his personality and leadership on the team will be missed more.
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Fleck will certainly miss all of the entertainment Denger's unique personality has provided off the golf course throughout his tenure at
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Denger also has a reputation for being frugal with money, to the point where his teammates like to let him hear about it.
“I remember a couple years ago when I used to give the guys per diem when we were at tournaments,” Fleck recalls. “
Denger admitted one of the things he will miss most about graduating is all of the free golf he gets to play.
“As frugal as I am, I do not know if I will be playing golf that much anymore,” he adds.
However, Denger adds that he will miss the van rides with his teammates just as much as actually playing in tournaments at top-notch courses across the country.
In addition, Denger appreciates the relationship he has built with Fleck.
“He is a great person,” Denger says. “He has nothing but positive things to say about you and will bend over backwards for you. We are always getting comments from opposing players, saying how our coach is a good guy. Many of the other coaches are out on the course ripping their players and making a scene. Aside from his instruction technically on my golf skills, he has more importantly taught me good life lessons.”
Denger is undecided on what he will do when he graduates in May with a degree in Business Administration.
“Right now my golf game is really solid and before the winter I would have ruled out trying to play professionally,” Denger says. “If things go well this spring, I would definitely try to keep playing after college.”
Denger adds that his dad has given him the option of going into the family business of construction.
“I am not sure what I will do, but I would not mind staying in
The Cardinals open up their spring season March 18 at the Pinehurst Invitational in
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And if things keep clicking for Denger, he still may not have to worry about paying for golf when his career as a Cardinal is finished.
Players Mentioned
