By Michael Travis
Editor in Chief
They say “almost” only counts in horseshoes and with hand grenades.
In the game of golf, “almost” gets you a middle-of-the-pack finish every time.
The Pepperdine men’s golf team finished ninth in a strong 18-team field Tuesday at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate at the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.
“We’ve had everyone putting good scores while at the same time we’ve had a couple of bad scores,” senior Brandon White said. White posted rounds of 77, 77 and 72 in the contest. It was his second year participating in the tournament. “Even though we’ve finished in the middle of the pack recently, it’s been pretty close. We’ve only been five or six shots from finishing first. It’s closer than it looks.”
This phenomenon is typical in the game of golf – winners can be decided with a single putt on the green, or the direction of the wind as a ball is driven.
Some of these factors worked in the Waves’ favor as the team sprang from 15th place after the first round to ninth place after the second round.
The fact that this happened was a miracle in itself.
Sophomore Brian O’Flaherty, a regular standout on the team, had a severe case of the flu and almost didn’t play in the tournament.
But he did, and came three strokes from tying a course record in the second round.
“Amazingly, in the second round he shot 67,” White said. “Which was incredible because he was so sick.”
O’Flaherty carded rounds of 76, 67 and 76.
However, one of O’Flaherty’s teammates, junior Randy Creighton, did tie the course record with a score of 64 in the second round. He completed the tournament in a three-way tie for 10th place at four-under par 212.
“It wasn’t our best tournament but we showed some good signs,” White said. “It was kind of weird to have so many ups and downs.”
Oklahoma State finished the 54-hole competition with a 22-under-par score of 842, claiming victory over host Texas by one stroke.
Pepperdine completed the tournament with an eight-over-par total of 296.
The Waves will return to action next week as they travel to Eugene, Ore., to take part in the Oregon Invitational at the Eugene County Club.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament continues with 36 holes of play next Monday.
“We are going to go in like any other tournament and do our best,” White said.
In the meantime, the men’s golf team will continue to work on the most important part of the golf game – consistency.
“During most of our rounds, we’ve have four mediocre scores, or two or three good scores and then one or two bad scores,” White said. “That usually keeps us from going to the top of the leader board. We need to get all on the same page.”
White said it is important for the team to come together in time for the regional championships, which begin in April and continue into May.
“The timing of getting everyone playing well together at the same time is what we need,” White said. “We have a lot of tournaments coming up in the next couple weeks and we have to try and get ready to peak around nationals.”
March 20, 2003