University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Off the Tee, Day 4
2/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Off the Tee, Day 4
Day 4, the final round, February 11, 2003
We woke up this morning to a perfect day for golf. Our first tee-time was 9:20a.m., so we got a much-needed extra hour of sleep this morning. Sitting alone in third place for the tournament, we knew we needed to play well. Wake Forest and SMU were both very solid teams and had a comfortable control of first and second place, respectively.
As we pulled into the parking lot of English Turn, Coach Johnson reminded us that the teams behind us were not far behind and that we had to play our own game today. A little inspirational speech was presented, and we were out of the van and ready to go.
The two guys I played with today were monsters off the tee. They were bombing drives all day, and I was constantly being out-driven by 15-to-20 yards. I guess that is what Coach meant when you have to play your own game. I wanted to swing as hard as I could so I could keep up with those guys, but it would have hurt my score and probably my back as well.
Mike Soroka played well today, shooting a one-over par 73. He had the pleasure of playing with the individual medallist, Bill Haas, who is a shoo-in for All-America honors and the son of PGA Tour professional, Jay Haas. Soroka finished in a tie for fifth individually, and I was very glad to see him play well.
Coach Johnson got mad at Mike today when he went for the green on the par-5, sixth hole and hit it in the water. It is funny watching those two go at it on the golf course. Mike is a very aggressive player on the course, and sometimes he makes decisions that Coach Johnson doesn?t agree with. He bogied the last hole today, and I knew right away that it would leave a bad taste in his mouth. You can play the round of your life, bogey the last hole and be so mad at yourself.
We definitely came to play today, shooting 3-over par as a team and solidifying third place to ourselves. We defeated three teams that were ranked considerably higher than we were. Tennessee, South Carolina, and ETSU were all ranked in the top 50, and we finished ahead of them. That is something for us to be proud of, with the young team that we have.
I was talking with some of the players on the other teams competing, and it seemed like the majority of the players in the tournament were graduating seniors. They were surprised to hear that we had only one senior, a freshman, two sophomores and a junior on this trip. We also have four guys at home who are definitely capable of posting some great numbers, and the oldest one is a junior. This just shows how much depth we have on this team.
Playing in the last group on Tuesday of a college golf tournament is quite an accomplishment in itself. We were proud to be there, and if we keep putting ourselves in that situation, we will win a lot of tournaments in the future. Each experience is one we can build on, and I think that playing with great teams, like Wake Forest and SMU, will show us that we can compete with the best in the nation. We will learn from our mistakes out there and be ready for the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, next Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 17-18, at Hattiesburg Country Club.
