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Northeastern State men’s golfer Christian Yanovitch did not even know he was in consideration to be a part of the PING All-Central Region Team. He did not even know it was limited to just 12 golfers.
But the sophomore definitely had the right to his spot on the team after a breakout second season. The Norwich Connecticut native led the RiverHawks with a 73.59 average over 18 holes. Yanovitch also finished in the top 10 in five tournaments while holding a .847 winning percentage (755-135).
“I did not even know I was in the running for it so I was pretty surprised,” said Yanovitch. “It is pretty special, I play with a lot of great players so to be one of three is really special to me. Because a lot of times I play with people and think I am not as good as them.”
Yanovitch certainly was as good as those he was facing. Helped by Yanovitch’s breakout season, NSU finished second in the Midwest-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament leading to a spot in the Central NCAA Regional.
“Overall it was a great season for both me and the team,” said Yanovitch. “I think if you gave me the overall outcome of the season I would be content with the tournaments we won and did well in. I was talking to coach about it and it had been a while since our team had done that well.”
Despite the RiverHawks finishing out of contention at the Regional in Winona, Minnesota, Yanovitch thought the experience will show dividends next season.
“That was huge to have four guys coming back to have played in that,” said Yanovitch. “It is kind of a chip on our shoulder because we were expecting to have a chance going into the final day. Since we did not have that we know what we need to do when we go back just to get off to a better start. It was huge to get there in the first place, it is a special place to be not everyone gets there.”
Yanovitch’s best round of the season came in the middle of March at the Warrior Invite in Las Vegas. Everything clicked for Yanovitch like a lucky gambler on the strip.
Strong iron play led Yanovitch to a one-under-par performance good for first place.
“When I won I hit 18 greens one day, 16 one day, and 15 the other day,” said Yanovitch. “That was the main reason why I won. Having putts on every hole is really big for me. I could make a couple of putts every day and that’s all I needed really.”
Throughout the season Yanovitch’s iron play got him into a position he did not expect; leading the RiverHawks. Going into the year Yanovitch knew he could reach that level, but did not think this was his year.
“That was the goal but I was expecting to be behind Carlos [Gomez],” said Yanovitch. “It was pretty cool I would say I have the confidence in my game that I knew I could do that. It was one of my goals going into this season. I would say my iron play and my long game were my best. Although I wasn’t making a lot of putts I was always around the green in two [shots].”
Now with the season behind him, Yanovitch turns his focus to next season. The young golfer has a lot of goals in mind for the 2023-24 season.
“I want to be one of the best D-II golfers in the nation. That sounds ambitious, but I think if I work hard I can do it,” said Yanovitch. “I want to go to nationals. It would be really cool to get the team there. This year I made all the tournaments, but I want to improve on that and get better as an individual.”
With high goals, comes a long grueling trainmen process. With a full summer ahead of him, Yanovitch has big plans for improvement.
“I would say I need to improve my short game because I have the long game I know that,” said Yanovitch. “If I can get a few more putts to fall each round that would help me shoot lower. That’s what really matters getting the ball in the hole. It is good if you can get it around the hole in two shots but it really means nothing if you can’t make some putts.”
