SHUHEI MATSUO
Sports Assistant
Despite the impressive first round score 7-under at the Hawaii-Hilo Intercollegiate, Pepperdine men’s golf team struggled in the second and the final rounds and finished the 16-team tournament T-9 on Friday.
Third-ranked Georgia Tech posted a final-round 6-under 278 to finish with a 27-under 825 and claimed a 14-shot victory over No.-2 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys finished second in the tournament with a 13-under 839, followed by the USC Trojans’ 840.
Hawaii placed fourth with a 2-under 850 and Stanford rounded out the Top 5 with an 858.
Individually, Georgia Tech’s Cameron Tringale became a medalist after posting a final-round 1-under 70 to finish at 11-under 202 for total. Hawaii’s Travis Toyama carded a 6-under 65 at Friday’s final round to finish one shot behind Tringale with a 10-under 203.
Pepperdine’s best individual finish was senior Alex Coe’s 9th place with a 4-under 209. The rest of the Waves finished the tournament with over-par scores.
Without having an over-par score, Pepperdine posted a 7-under 277 on the first day and tied for 5th place with Hawaii. However, the second day was the opposite, no one posted an under-par score, which dropped the team’s place to T-13.
The Waves kept suffering at Waikoloa Village Golf Course on the final round, posting only one sub-par score by Coe.
“It was difficult,” said Coe, who tied for the eighth at last week’s tournament. “Dealing with the wind, putting was the most difficult part of the game.”
According to Coe, the wind was blowing about 40 miles per hour on the second day. He said the ball was shaking when he tried to putt on the greens.
Like Coe, Head Coach John Geiberger mentioned the strong Hawaiian wind.
Geiberger also said putting became more difficult than hitting when playing with a strong wind.
Waikoloa Village Golf Course is a basic course and not too difficult, Geiberger said.
“If wind doesn’t blow, it’s a birdie festival,” he said.
Sophomore Michael Baird began the tournament with an impressing first-round score 3-under 69. However, he lost the momentum on the second day and shot a 5-over 77. He continued struggling in the final round, shooting another 77 to tie for the 67th.
The strong wind that blew on the second and the third day was the main factor for his disappointing last two rounds, but Baird doesn’t think that was the only factor, he said.
“I started playing bad, too,” he said. “But the wind was blowing like 40 [miles an hour].”
Like Geiberger, Baird described the course as an easy course. But it becomes such a tough course with wind, he said.
On one hole during the first day, Baird went driver and pitching wedge to the green, but couldn’t reach the green with driver and two-iron when the wind started to blow on the second day, he said.
According to him, the wind didn’t just affect the players when they were hitting, it affected them when they were putting on the green as well.
“When we were putting, we had to deal with the wind, too, not just the slope,” Baird said.
Although his story sounded like a bitter experience in Hawaii, Baird seemed like he enjoyed it.
“It was kind of fun, though,” he said.
The Waves are on a 17-day break and will return to action Monday, Feb. 27, when they host the Ashworth Collegiate Invitation at their home course North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village.
02-16-2006