Spring Break
Golf set for regional action
Beavers to begin NCAA West Regional Tournament on Thursday, in Daly City, Calif.
John Daly
Issue date: 5/13/09 Section: Sports
On the strength of a hard-fought, fifth-place finish in Seattle's challenging Pac-10 Championship tournament, the Oregon State University men's golf team cruises into the postseason as junior Paul Peterson and company look to shatter the competition in the West Regionals for the NCAA Golf Championship.
The Beavers qualified for postseason play for the third consecutive year, and will play for a shot at the coveted championship crown as action commences at the Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif. on Thursday.
Seeded 11th in the 13-team event, the Beavers will battle aggressive competition in the West Regional, one of six first-round tournaments being played across the country. After 54 holes, the lowest five teams from each regional advance to the NCAA finals May 26-30.
OSU team play has been steadily improving throughout the final events of the regular season, and the Beavers are heating up at precisely the right time. Head coach Brian Watts knows his players are ready for the challenges they are about to face.
"The guys have a pretty good feel for what they are going to see this weekend," Watts said. "It is critical to hit the fairway, even more than normal because the greens are a bit smaller and there is not a lot of room for error. We are a good ball striking team and we hit a lot of fairways. That plays to an advantage for us."
Boosting the team's confidence levels to an extra high peak is the recent play of veteran phenom Peterson. In his most recent appearance in Seattle's Pac-10 Championship, Peterson rifled off rounds of 71, 73, 72 and 69 to finish 3-under par in a tie for sixth, marking the fifth top-10 finish for the junior, who has never finished outside the top-25.
"I stayed patient," Peterson said. "Seattle is a golf course where if you start to get impatient and push, it will push back a lot harder. I was able to hit onto the bigger parts of the green to have some room to work with, make some good up and downs and take advantage of the par-5s."
The Beavers qualified for postseason play for the third consecutive year, and will play for a shot at the coveted championship crown as action commences at the Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif. on Thursday.
Seeded 11th in the 13-team event, the Beavers will battle aggressive competition in the West Regional, one of six first-round tournaments being played across the country. After 54 holes, the lowest five teams from each regional advance to the NCAA finals May 26-30.
OSU team play has been steadily improving throughout the final events of the regular season, and the Beavers are heating up at precisely the right time. Head coach Brian Watts knows his players are ready for the challenges they are about to face.
"The guys have a pretty good feel for what they are going to see this weekend," Watts said. "It is critical to hit the fairway, even more than normal because the greens are a bit smaller and there is not a lot of room for error. We are a good ball striking team and we hit a lot of fairways. That plays to an advantage for us."
Boosting the team's confidence levels to an extra high peak is the recent play of veteran phenom Peterson. In his most recent appearance in Seattle's Pac-10 Championship, Peterson rifled off rounds of 71, 73, 72 and 69 to finish 3-under par in a tie for sixth, marking the fifth top-10 finish for the junior, who has never finished outside the top-25.
"I stayed patient," Peterson said. "Seattle is a golf course where if you start to get impatient and push, it will push back a lot harder. I was able to hit onto the bigger parts of the green to have some room to work with, make some good up and downs and take advantage of the par-5s."
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