Montgomery grad heads to Oklahoma for IIAJC
By: Bob Nuse
Having shown he can certainly compete with the best golfers in this area, Dan Treichler will now get a chance to see how his game compares to golfers around the country.
Treichler, who graduated from Montgomery High in June, is one of three golfers from New Jersey who will compete in the Independent Insurance Agents Junior Classic national tournament, which begins on Monday at the Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Okla.
Treichler qualified by shooting a 1-under par 71 in a regional qualifier at Bey Lea Golf Course in Toms River. He then finished second in the state tournament, which was held at Olde York Country Club in Columbus, shooting a two-day total of 157. The top three players in the state competition advanced to the national tournament.
"I’m really excited about going," said Treichler, who will attend Hamilton College this fall. "I think one of the biggest differences is that we’ll be playing on Bermuda grass and I’ve only played on that a couple of times down in Florida. It should be a nice experience.
"I think it’s going to feel more like a professional with players coming in from all over the country."
After a standout career at Montgomery, Treichler certainly deserves his place in the tournament. This past season the Cougars finished the season 20-1, and in his four years with Montgomery, he helped the team to a 64-3 record. Montgomery won the state Group II title his junior season, and the Cherry Valley Invitational the past two years.
Since the end of the high school season, Treichler has managed to get out onto the golf course as often as possible, which means just about every day.
"I’ve been able to get out and play just about every day since school ended," said Treichler, who is a member of Cherry Valley Country Club and works at Bedens Brook Country Club. "At the most, I’ve only missed seven or eight days. I’ve played in a couple of tournaments, but for the most part I’ve just been going out and playing on my own. I play at Cherry Valley and also at Bedens Brook whenever I get a chance."
Playing against some of the top players in the country will give Treichler an idea of what the competition should be like when he starts to play in college.
"I’m really looking forward to that," he said. "The team is Division III, but it’s one of the better ones in the country at that level. They’re bringing in some new freshmen next year and it should be pretty competitive."
Treichler welcomes the competition. And after several years of working on his game, he’s anxious to see where he stands against some of the top players in the country.
"We’ve been members at Cherry Valley since it opened," Treichler said. "I started hitting balls with my dad when I was younger. I guess I really started to take it seriously the summer before eighth grade.
"I’ve played in Florida and New Jersey, but other than that I don’t think I’ve ever played more than two hours away from this area. So it will be nice to play against players from all over the country and see how they play. I’m just hoping to do the best I can."
As his final preparation for the tournament, Treichler played this past week in the Rutgers Junior Open, where he finished in eighth place in the 72-hole tournament, shooting a 302. His former Montgomery teammate, Landon Boger, finished third in the event, shooting a 292 for 72 holes.