Anything can happen once athletes hit the golf courses across Europe this fall. But good luck to those chasing the defending champions.

Seniors Christian McHugh of Ramstein and Asia Andrews of Kaiserslautern are coming off individual championships while leading their teams to European titles.

The Royals and Raiders look to continue their strangleholds on the boys and girls team titles, respectively. Ramstein has collected seven straight boys team titles, and Kaiserslautern has dominated the team and individual competitions since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the modified Stableford scoring system that rewards more points to the players with the fewest strokes, all will be determined at the European championships Oct. 9-10 at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Here’s a look at the teams, based off responses from coaches:

Hohenfels

In his first season at the helm, coach John Murphy is making no secret the Tigers’ mission: compete for a Division III title.

Hohenfels lacks returners, but that doesn’t mean it has no experience. Senior Marcus Freeman played in Colorado before moving to Germany, while junior Connor Landreth took some swings in Texas.

Freshmen Emily Ahmet and Logan Landry picked up their clubs for the first time to round out the Hohenfels roster.

Kaiserslautern

Nobody has come close to matching the Raiders’ girl squad in terms of quantity and quality in recent years.

Kaiserslautern could be vulnerable, though. Four-time European qualifier and one-time champion Reigen Pezel and two-time Euro qualifier Shalee Moneymaker-Donachie graduated.

Still, it helps to have Andrews coming back. The senior ran away with the individual title in 2023 with a 14-point advantage over Pezel in second place.

Senior Sofia Johnson and sophomore Mackenzie Dager will look to step into the void left by graduation while helping bring freshmen up to speed quickly so the Raiders can reload.

The boys side also lost any golfer who advanced to the European tournament in the past four years. Coach Andy Dager has high hopes for senior Anthony Orio and junior Devin Shank to break out this fall.

Lakenheath

The Lancers are looking to swing their way to a Top 3 finish at this year’s European tournament, according to coach Grant Severts.

Leading Lakenheath are a pair of returning European qualifiers. Senior Ethan Wright, in his third year on the team, tied for 10th at 2023’s end, while junior Jordan Chacon del Bosque came in 20th.

Senior Clay Christensen rounds out the returning Lancers.

Lakenheath has four first-year golfers in seniors Isaac Taylor and Aydin Atalay, freshman Harrell Schwamburger, and Ethan Kunz.

Naples

Coach Chris Storey isn’t used to seeing such a deep pool of players during his time at Naples.

Naturally, it has him excited.

The Wildcats can turn to their two returning European qualifiers in senior Morgan Johnson, who took fifth place in the girls tournament, and junior David Manus, who ended the 2023 campaign in 18th on the boys side. Also returning is senior Kevin Gooch.

New to the squad are senior Jackson Shorey, junior Sasha Munz and freshmen Jaydn Ferguson, Ernest Gracia, Daria Munz and Parker Langton.

Ramstein

The Royals have an embarrassment of riches on the boys side, with the top five coming back from last year’s championship squad.

That includes three who finished in the Top 4 spots at Woodlawn Golf Course last fall. Along with McHugh in the top spot, fellow three-year Euro participant David Obermuller took home runner-up honors. Junior Tyler Hacker came in fourth.

The other two back are seniors Jeremiah Ramirez and Ryan Izaguirre.

As if that wasn’t enough, PCS strengthened the Royals further. Senior Micah Rothas transferred in from Lakenheath after making two European tournaments, including a ninth-place finish last year. Fellow senior Grayden Taylor and freshman Michael Schmiedel join from Colorado and Japan, respectively.

The girls, meanwhile, will try to usurp the Raiders in October.

Sophomore Nora Hacker came out of nowhere last season to place third at Euros. Another sophomore, Mya Boynton, placed sixth last year, while junior Caitlyn Little also is back.

New to the team are Ilana (junior) and Inara (freshman) Johnson, junior Lilianna Greene and freshman Alyson Corbett.

Rota

The Admirals enter the 2024 season under a new coach in Ryan Uran. He said the players are looking to improve as individuals and as a team.

K-town Sports