By Garrett Hearl
For msuspartans.com
Michigan State men’s golfers Lorenzo Pinili and Lucas Acevedo came in as the only two freshmen in the program’s 2023 fall recruiting class.
On a team loaded with upperclassmen, the young golfers arrived with promise, a lot to learn, and still made their way into the lineup during the biggest stretches of this season, including the NCAA Regionals.
Pinili played in all 13 events – posting a 743.35 scoring average. Pinili, the No. 2 ranked prep golfer in Michigan last year, has experienced some ups and downs on the course as a freshman but still appeared in eight events and carried a 75.20 average in 20 rounds.
“In high school, I was never at the bottom of the leaderboard,” said Pinili, who played high school golf at Brother Rice in Detroit. “Then I jump into college, and I immediately took last, or something like that.
“Growing from that and starting from the bottom I realized in high school golf you can fix your game and make big jumps. But here, you’ve got to go slowly, because it’s a totally different game.”
On March 5, Pinili shot 211 at the Colleton River Collegiate at the Colleton River Club in Bluffton, S.C. – a season best for him where he tied for 22nd place.
Acevedo has played in three events this season in the lineup, most recently at the Colleton River Collegiate. Unlike Pinili, Acevedo was a late bloomer becoming an elite high school golfer.
“Golf is just really unorthodox,” said Acevedo, who played at Porter Gaud high school in Daniel Island, S.C. “I taught myself how to play, didn’t really get a swing coach until senior year.
“I started playing freshman year of high school, transitioned from another sport (tennis). It did transition to golf, but at the same time, it created some bad habits. This year I’ve worked really hard to get rid of those bad habits and inaccuracy overall. Just trying to be more consistent.”
Acevedo mentioned he held the club with a baseball-style grip until he got to MSU., which is unorthodox compared to the traditional overlapping grip.
The pair is learning the mental part of college golf that is now exaggerated compared to the junior level.
“The coaches will tell you how much potential you have and what went wrong,” Pinili said. “It was just hard to listen to because I just didn’t take it very well, going…
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