GREG BARNETT
Sports Assistant
The Pepperdine men’s golf team opens its 2007 season with the William Tucker Intercollegiate Tournament this weekend in Albuquerque, N.M. The Waves are boosted by a team that didn’t graduate a single player in the spring and has three highly talented freshmen to contribute this season.
“Everyone can see at practice the amount of talent we have on the team this year,” said senior co-captain Eric Shriver. “I think we have a very good chance to contend for a national championship but we’re going to take it one tournament at a time.”
Last season, the Waves earned a trip to their 10th consecutive NCAA regional tournament and also won the West Coast Conference championship for the ninth time in the past 11 years.
The team barely missed out on a trip to the NCAA championship tournament with a heartbreaking tie for 12th at the regional tournament at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.
“We shot 23 under par and didn’t make it, whenever you come so close you learn more about an individual player and the team,” said Head Coach John Geiberger. “That will light a fire under us this year to do better at regionals.”
The two stroke loss was hard to bear, and an unfortunate case of food poisoning suffered by Shriver, the night before the final round, may have been the factor that kept the team from advancing.
Among the returnees on this year’s team are co-captains Shriver and Jesse Barnsley. Shriver was a first-team all WCC who led the team with a 73.16 stroke average. He also had a team-high four top 10 finishes with a first place finish in the Georgia State / Pepperdine Challenge at the TPC in Valencia, Texas. Barnsley competed in every tournament last season and compiled four top-20 finishes with a 73.67 stroke average.
This year the team also welcome freshmen Josh Anderson, Andrew Putnam and Austin Karle. This summer, Anderson won the California State Amateur title and qualified for the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur. Putnam is a three-time Washington State champion and 2006 American Junior Golf Association Rolex All-American. He also made it to the round of 16 at this year’s U.S. Amateur. Austin Karle is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and was a two-time all-state selection.
“All three freshmen are tournament tested and they have proven they can shoot low numbers, which is what you need to win college tournaments,” said red-shirt sophomore Carl Smith.
There are a number of core players on the team who are expected to play well this year for the team to succeed, such as Colin Wilcox, Carl Smith, and Andrew Widmar. Wilcox is a senior who had four top-20 finishes in 13 tournaments last year and tied for third on the team with a 74.33 scoring average.
Smith was an All-WCC honorable mention after finishing the year with a 74.71 stroke average in 11 tournaments. Smith also qualified for the U.S. Amateur this summer. Sophomore Andrew Widmar, a walk-on last season, tied for third with a 74.33 stroke average in nine rounds.
With the talented freshmen coming in and all the players from last year’s team returning, the season looks promising for the Waves. The team played well at the William Tucker last season with a third place finish and will look to improve on last year’s result this weekend.
“This is probably the deepest team I’ve ever had at Pepperdine,” Geiberger said. “We can be good enough to win regionals, there’s no reason our mindset shouldn’t be like that.”
09-13-2007
