TOWSON, Md. — After a 15-year hiatus, former Tiger golfers Jeff Castle and Billy Wingerd are teaming together again, hoping to recapture the kind of success and fun they enjoyed in their college years when leading Towson to its glory days on the course.
Both are Tiger Hall of Famers. Wingerd was the second golfer ever inducted in 2017. Castle will follow when he is formally admitted on October 15th at the 57th annual Hall of Fame Induction Banquet. Scheduled on the eve of Towson's Homecoming Weekend, the event will be held at Martin's Valley Mansion. Ticket information will be available in the near future.
The pair recently reunited, surprising the Quaker State's local favorites to capture the 76th Annual W.B. Sullivan Invitational Fourball Tournament at Lebanon Country Club, an event that, according to Jeff Falk of Lebanon Sports Buzz, attracts golfers from "up and down the east coast." The Baltimore duo easily beat a local team that included a defending medalist, 5&3, to take championship flight honors.
"It was a lot of fun," said Castle who claimed his third Sullivan title, having won in 2006 and again in 2016 with partner Jimmy Grem, the son of Tom Grem, the first golfer inducted into Towson's Hall of Fame back in 2000. "Billy and I were very close in college but lost track of each other when we both got married and started having families. We rejoined the same country club at Hillendale this past February and have started playing together again."
Castle and Wingerd led Towson to consecutive NCAA Tournaments in 2004 and 2005. Each was named Towson's Male Athlete of the Year and both were honored as a Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. They were the only Towson golfers chosen to the CAA's 25th anniversary men's golf team. On the Towson leaderboard, Wingerd remains Towson's career average leader at 73.00 over 104 rounds. Castle is second at 73.16 in a career high 118 rounds. His 8-under par 63 in 2004 is still the program record for low round by a Tiger that was equaled by John Duthie in 2010. Castle's 200 (-13) ranks first for low on the Tigers' 54-hole list.
Both have won two Maryland State Golf Association Mid-Am titles. Wingerd picked up his trophies in 2017 and 2020. Castle became the first golfer in the tournament's history to win back-to-back titles with his 2013 and 2014 victories.
"The best part of that weekend in Pennsylvania was getting together with Billy again," Castle said. "We hadn't played a team event together since college. We played six rounds of golf in three days. When you keep winning matches you get those competitive juices going again. As a result we're going to try to qualify for the US Amateur Four-Ball in September and see what happens. You never know."
