Peyton White and Ty Herriott aren't just the top two players for Ohio’s men’s golf team; they're also best friends, roommates and co-captains.
“I think we’re a pretty decent combo, very different, but very alike and we (have been) best friends since freshman year, so it is sweet to see us end up this way,” White said.
Being named captains, more of a leadership role has been placed on White and Herriott’s shoulders. Although they both lead by example, the way each goes about their leadership is completely different.
“Ty has a more relaxed manner to it, (while) Peyton is a little more down to business. But, what they do is great for the team. It’s a lot of checks and balances between the two of them,” teammate Ben Sattler said.
White says Herriott is “the fire” and helps calm him down when he is stressed out.
“I get stressed and so he’s there to calm me down and he’s never stressed and it pisses me off,” White said.
White pulled Sattler off to the side prior to the Eastern Kentucky Invitational and they played "a simple game" according to the sophomore, but it helped Sattler’s play just before competition.
Now veterans, White and Herriott have learned how to prepare for tournaments and can pass it down to the younger players.
When White arrived from Huntersville, North Carolina he immediately established himself as a top golfer, leading Ohio with five top-20 finishes his freshman season. White made the All-MAC Second Team in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He ended last season second in the MAC in average strokes per 18 holes at 72.28.
Conversely, Herriot did not immediately succeed after arriving from Brandywine, Maryland with his best placing being tied for 44th. In his sophomore season he managed three top-20 finishes but had only one in his junior season. Herriot became a more consistent golfer as he averaged 75.92 strokes per 18 holes last season.
Now seniors, White and Herriott share one singular goal — for the team to win a tournament. Individual players have won tournaments on their own but the team hasn’t.
“I would love to get a team win. It would be something really special and I would just like everyone to enjoy it and understand that the position we’re in is pretty special and it’s a privilege,” Herriott said.
White and Herriott are trying their hardest to get a team win. Playing some of their best golf of their time at Ohio, Herriott has shot back-to-back three round scores of 207 that included two individual rounds of 65, a career best for him.
Having both been in winners’ circles, White and Herriott know that it is not easy to win as an individual, and much harder as a team since four players have to be playing well for fifty-four holes.
“If you win individually it helps the team, but at the end of the day if we win a tournament and I come in dead-last place I will be just as happy as if we win a tournament and I win personally,” White said.
Sattler said because White and Herriott are really good it pushes the rest of the team in practice to step up their performance to the expectations the co-captains have for them leading players to perform better and possibly some tournament wins for the team.
“I think there would be no better feeling than to come back to Athens with some hardware,” White said.
