Nicholls golf to play in Duck Commander Intercollegiate tournament

Powered by senior leadership, the Nicholls men’s golf team prepares for their final tournament as they close out the fall season.

Senior Peyton McCulloch from Zachary, Louisiana is heading into the Duck Commander Intercollegiate with the best season start of his college career. McCulloch earned a top ten finish in the John Dallio Memorial to kick off his senior campaign, and recently finished top five at the Derek Dolenc Invitational.

As a team, the Colonels finished 10th out of 15 competing teams at the Derek Dolenc Invitational. The individual standout performances this fall are what drive the force of the golf team as a whole.

“We want to obviously win a tournament as a team, but one of my main goals coming to Nicholls was to win an individual,” McCulloch said. “I haven’t gotten there yet, and I don’t like to look in the past, but I got a top ten and a top five so I guess next on the list is a win, hopefully.”

McCulloch said the most important thing to do now is to keep working hard and focusing on the objective once he gets to the next tournament.

As a member of a very diverse team which includes men from the state of Louisiana as well as from across the globe, McCulloch feels lucky to be a part of a team which fosters a competitive environment. Nicholls golf currently has members from Spain, France, Iceland and Canada.

“It’s tough to find a spot whenever the team is recruiting out of the country. I feel lucky to have one,” McCulloch said. “We do take kids from Louisiana each year but with others coming from out of the country, it’s hard to get that spot.”

McCulloch has deep family ties to Nicholls and said a big factor in his choice to be a Colonel was because of his dad. His dad, Craig McCulloch, was the first quarterback in Nicholls football history in 1972. His ties to Nicholls have helped him stay rooted and fill his role on the team.

“As a senior, he has really stepped up. He’s really improved and progressed throughout his college career, which is exactly what I want to see as a head coach,” Head Coach James Schilling said. “Hopefully when they have reached their senior year, they’re at the pinnacle of what they are able to do.”

Schilling looks forward to seeing McCulloch continue to progress and show the younger players the ropes. Unlike other sports, golf competes in both the fall and spring semesters in order to meet the required hours for the NCAA. This means that although their fall season is coming to an end, they have four scheduled tournaments to look forward to in the spring, as well as the Southland Conference Championships.

In order to keep the team ready for action all year long, Schilling recruits from around the globe to find exactly what he is looking for in a student-athlete.
“We try to get the best players that want to attend Nicholls and be on the team,” Schilling said. “By recruiting outside the country, we are able to find the best person who wants to be a student-athlete and compete at the division one level.”

Schilling started with the Colonels in 1998 when he was an assistant for the men’s golf team for two years. He has been with the team since then, and as the head coach for the past 16 seasons, Schilling has seen great progress in the golf program and progress in the University as a whole.

“For example with the construction of the soccer facility, we didn’t always have that. We didn’t always have the golf area where the team can practice,” Schilling said. “We added the new residence halls and have seen a lot of renovations overall, not just with athletics but with the entire university.”

According to Schilling, the advancements in the facilities on Nicholls grounds have helped with recruiting for many of the sports teams.

Between the improvements with his team and the campus facilities over the years, Schilling recognizes that the future looks bright for the Colonels.