By Scott Long
Staff Writer
The Pepperdine men’s golf season is officially underway after the completion of the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate tournament this weekend in Albuquerque, N.M.
The next tournament for the men’s golf team is Sept. 29 and 30 at the Newport Cup in a cross-country trip to Newport, R.I.
Competition at the team’s first tournament was stiff. The field at the tournament included top-ranked teams such as host New Mexico, Brigham Young University, Texas A&M and winner Arizona State. The Waves ended up 10th out of 20 teams at the two-day event held at the University of New Mexico course.
“We performed OK for the first tournament of the season, finishing in the middle of the 20-team competition,” Head Coach John Geiberger said.
Junior Michael Putnam was the top finisher for the Waves, tying for 30th with a three-round total of 5-over par 221. Other showings include junior Brian O’Flaherty and Chris Elliott tying for 40th, and sophomore Alex Coe tying for 53rd overall.
“I was happy with the way we hit the ball,” Geiberger said. “I just felt that we were more concerned with doing well in the tournament than just going out there and playing our game.”
With a pre-season rank of 17th nationally, the 10th place finish for the Waves in Albuquerque was somewhat sub-par. However, their coach said the team is just a little rusty from the off-season and still expects big things for his team.
“Overall it was a good start to the year, and I see us having great improvement throughout the golf season,” Geiberger said.
With no regional standings at stake, Geiberger sees the tournament as an opportunity for some new faces, including freshman Jordan Nasser of Anaheim Hills, to hit the links. Other teams the Waves will be facing included 2002 National Champion Minnesota, who will allow Pepperdine to have valuable top-notch competition early in the season.
September 18, 2003