As Middle Tennessee's men's golf team circled The Grove Club at the 2017 NCAA College Grove Regional in nearby College Grove, Tennessee, it did so with one team member watching from the sidelines, desperately thinking for a way to hone his game and hopefully crack the lineup the following fall.
The Blue Raiders finished the tournament on May 17 tied for sixth overall, one place shy of making it back to their first NCAA Championships since the 2007-08 season. While it was a banner year for MT, including a fourth-place finish at the Conference USA Championship, it was simultaneously one of the toughest in the young career of junior James Beckner.