ALEC EAGON
Staff Writer
It seems like there isn’t a day that goes by without news of another pro athlete who has been caught doping or displaying poor conduct on or off the field. Few professional sports have been able to maintain a spotless image and also continue to present success as a result of hard work and discipline.
Golf, however, has not followed the trend of other pro sports and that is one reasons golfer Shane Mason, 19, loves it.
“I love that golf is still considered a game that promotes and demands that golfers play with honor and integrity,” says Mason.
Mason, a sophomore on the Pepperdine men’s golf team, has been playing golf since he was 5 and doesn’t have any plans of stopping or slowing anytime soon.
“I plan on playing competitive golf until someone physically stops me” says Mason. “I love to play in golf tournaments, and plan on playing in them for as long as I possibly can.”
Mason played other sports growing up, including baseball, basketball, and also football for a couple years.
“I really loved to play basketball, which is ironic because [it] is so completely different from golf ” says Mason. “[Basketball] requires quickness and good reflexes, whereas golf mandates patience and an analytical mind.”
Despite his interests in other sports, Mason’s love for golf and its many unique characteristics eventually took priority in his life.
“I love the fact that golf is played outdoors on all different types of courses,” says Mason. “There are no two courses that are identical – the same cannot be said of other sports. I also love the fact that, as hard as one tries, golf is not a game that can be mastered. Even as great as Tiger Woods is, he will never be able to play a perfect round of golf.”
Though it may sound like it does not get any better than being able to practice at North Ranch Country Club, Calabasas Country Club and Ojai Valley Golf Course each week, in reality the life of a Division I collegiate golfer at Pepperdine is anything but easy.
As a matter of fact, the time sacrifice and commitment that the golf teams requires is so great, that some underclassman in recent years have decided to quit the team because of the difficulty of juggling golf and their academic commitments.
For Mason, however, 8 a.m. classes four days a week, getting back late in the evening from practices, and a year-round season, have been worth the effort.
“Playing on the golf team at Pepperdine has been the greatest experience of my life,” said Mason. “It really has been much more fun and exciting than I expected coming in during my freshman year. The team is very close, and the chemistry has been phenomenal.”
Mason is also a student and a fan of golf. In his spare time, he enjoys reading golf magazines, watching golf tournaments on TV, and following the careers of PGA Tour players such as Tiger Woods.
“I have an unbelievable amount of respect and admiration for Tiger,” said Mason. “Simply put, he is the greatest golfer of all-time. For those of us who watch him play, it is the equivalent of watching Babe Ruth or Willie Mays play baseball, or Michael Jordan play basketball, in their respective primes.”
In February, Mason and the men’s team traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., to compete in their first tournament of the year, the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the University of North Florida. Mason finished lower in the tournament this year, tied for 61st place, than his 11th place finish in the tournament last year, but still played a big part in helping the team gain its 3rd place finish out of a field of 15 teams, including eight teams ranked in the top-25 nationally.
Since the John Hayt tournament, Mason also competed with the men’s team in the USC Intercollegiate here in California. Mason tied for 25th, which helped the team to a 4th place finish.
After the spring season and the NCAA Championships, Mason says he is looking forward to continuing his season this summer playing in amateur tournaments, including the Southern California Amateur, the California State Amateur and the U.S. Amateur. Last summer Mason won the 2007 Santee City Amateur Championship at the Carlton Oaks Golf Course in Santee, CA.
04-10-2008
