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John Daly
Issue date: 5/21/09 Section: Sports
Despite a late surge at the NCAA regional event, the Oregon State University men's golf team fell short of qualifying for the NCAA finals in Daly City, Calif., last weekend.
The team's second and third round scores of 283 and 285 were not enough to offset Friday's opening round score of 300. However, the effort was good enough to place the team 10th overall at 4 over par.
"It was too bad that we got ourselves out of it a little bit in the first round, but we certainly showed everyone that we are good enough to be there in the last two rounds," said freshman Morten Madsen. "It was disappointing, but we have learned from it and will be stronger next time."
It was the little things that trapped the Beavers: balls finding bunkers, good putts not falling and birdie opportunities being thwarted by inconsistent green conditions. After suffering from such an early deficit, the team was able to turn things around late, thanks to shrewd instruction from head coach Brian Watts and solid play from the entire lineup.
"We got into that trend of falling behind early a little bit this spring, but when things were rough, they managed to fight back," Watts said. "You are on the course for a long time when you are playing tournament golf, so it just shows their mental toughness to be able to come back like that. They fight hard all the time."
Junior Paul Peterson led the way for the Beavers at regionals with rounds of 79, 69 and 67. When the veteran touched 67 in the final round, he matched his personal lowest score of the season, which he has now achieved three times as a junior. Peterson's spectacular season scoring average of 71.85 not only made him the third-best player in OSU golf scoring history, but also earned him a spot on the All-Pac-10 second team.
"It was a great surprise for me," Peterson said. "I didn't know I would be getting the honor. The Pac-10 is the strongest conference in the country, so to be up there in the top 10 or 12 guys feels really good. It was cool to have a lot of that hard work pay off this season."
The team's second and third round scores of 283 and 285 were not enough to offset Friday's opening round score of 300. However, the effort was good enough to place the team 10th overall at 4 over par.
"It was too bad that we got ourselves out of it a little bit in the first round, but we certainly showed everyone that we are good enough to be there in the last two rounds," said freshman Morten Madsen. "It was disappointing, but we have learned from it and will be stronger next time."
It was the little things that trapped the Beavers: balls finding bunkers, good putts not falling and birdie opportunities being thwarted by inconsistent green conditions. After suffering from such an early deficit, the team was able to turn things around late, thanks to shrewd instruction from head coach Brian Watts and solid play from the entire lineup.
"We got into that trend of falling behind early a little bit this spring, but when things were rough, they managed to fight back," Watts said. "You are on the course for a long time when you are playing tournament golf, so it just shows their mental toughness to be able to come back like that. They fight hard all the time."
Junior Paul Peterson led the way for the Beavers at regionals with rounds of 79, 69 and 67. When the veteran touched 67 in the final round, he matched his personal lowest score of the season, which he has now achieved three times as a junior. Peterson's spectacular season scoring average of 71.85 not only made him the third-best player in OSU golf scoring history, but also earned him a spot on the All-Pac-10 second team.
"It was a great surprise for me," Peterson said. "I didn't know I would be getting the honor. The Pac-10 is the strongest conference in the country, so to be up there in the top 10 or 12 guys feels really good. It was cool to have a lot of that hard work pay off this season."
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