NCAA Men's Golf West Regional Quotes: Final Round
May 17, 2008 | Men's Golf
May 17, 2008
PLAYOFF QUOTES
Texas Coach John Fields:
General Statement:
""Obviously I'm really thrilled for our guys. We played the playoff well and overall played well today. We had a couple rounds in the 60's, which was just what the doctor ordered. So, that was wonderful. And then to wait around all day and see that San Diego State played some magnificent golf out there and then find ourselves in a playoff -- you know, this is why we play. I'd much rather have been just in, but then my guys rose to the occasion - had three pars and two birdies (in the playoff) and I'm just real proud of my guys."
So it's on to Purdue:
"Yeah, here we go!"
San Diego State Head Coach Ryan Donovan:
General Statement:
"Wow. We talked last night about having a story to tell and this is sure one heck of a story. I'm so excited for these guys, I'm so proud of their work. They played hard today and didn't give up. They didn't quit on each other and were committed. It was just an amazing day of golf and they deserve the best."
On making a charge on the last day of regionals:
"We were up and down, we were watching the leaderboard on our phone. We thought we were close, we thought we were four or five back, coming down the stretch with a couple birdies and an eagle. It was just one of those things. It was meant to be."
On Johan Carlsson's two eagles:
"I was farther back with Aaron Goldberg, but our other coach, Dale Walker, gave him the line and what to hit [then] looked at him and said 'You've got to go for it. Let's just see what happens.' He knocked it on and the putt went in."
On going to the NCAA National Championships:
"We're just so excited. When you shoot for 14 over, 15 over and know you have to pull up a number today, it's pretty hard to be excited. But we went out one hole at a time. I'm so impressed by these guys and all their hard work."
MORNING QUOTES
USC Head Coach Chris Zambri:
On his feelings about winning the NCAA West Regionals:
"We feel great. The two goals this week were obviously getting through, which was the first goal, and then winning was the second (goal). It was a perfect week for us to do both of those things. We've been playing well as of late and I'm glad we got out of here with a win. We tried to butcher it at the end. It got more hairy than it should have. Anyways, it was great to get a win and now we're just looking forward to a week and a half from now. Our whole year just comes down to those four days."
On the belief by some that USC has five No. 1 players on its team:
"I don't know if we have five number ones, but we have five guys who could finish in the top five. In our top five we've had two wins, three seconds. It's pretty strong when you have five guys who have finished second or better throughout the year at a given event. I would assume that with five guys it makes it more possible to win a National Championship and increases your odds. Having five guys that can finish in the top five or 10 really helps."
Oregon Head Coach Casey Martin:
On Joey Benedetti:
"He just did phenomenal. I'm so pumped for him. He's really worked hard and these last few months of his career he's really turned it on."
On his teams' plan coming into today:
"(It was) just to keep playing golf like we can play golf and don't do anything stupid. We had a tough start. We had one boy who was struggling big time, so it added a little pressure on people. But everyone responded and we got it in. We played a really great back nine and when it got windy, we showed up. So that was a big step forward for our program, no doubt.
How big is advancing to the NCAA Championships for your team:
"It's huge. I'm so happy for the guys to get to go experience that. For the freshmen to get to go do something like that is awesome, and the seniors haven't been there yet ... it's pretty cool."
Washington Head Coach Matt Thurmond:
Overall feelings on how his team played:
"The course was playing so tough and the guys just stepped up like I couldn't imagine. We had our best round of the tournament on the final round of the tournament, when we really needed it. Our senior leader Zach (Bixler) was four-under early and I think it really calmed everybody down. Nick (Taylor) said he didn't hit many good shots today but he still found a way to go one-under par and everyone else really just hung in there. It was awesome."
On how senior Zach Bixler carried the team:
"That's what your seniors do. Zach's been here. This is his fourth regional. He's been to the nationals. When you're going into a round like today you need someone to lead you. He and I talked about it last night and this morning and he was ready to do it. He came out and birdied four of the first seven holes. I think that really calmed everybody down to see Bixler, their senior leader, that far under par early. Guys were one or two over early and I think they just said `okay, we're fine, Bix is taking care of it'. I think it really relaxed everybody. Him getting that start was just huge for the guys."
On the feeling of redemption by making the NCAA Championships:
"We had a tough spring. It's been a really hard year for us. It's been a challenge for us. We kind of said all along through the tough times that if we get to regionals we're going to get through because we know we're going to play well at this course. It's just what we do. The challenge was getting here and I think we felt a lot of confidence once we got here."
Joey Benedetti, Senior, Oregon:
On his play during the week:
"I just played real steady all week. I really had a good feel for the greens the entire week and had a bunch of lag putts today. I didn't three putt all tournament. I just played steady. I didn't really hit the ball that great today but I gave myself some clean up opportunities and I capitalized on them."
On his feelings of both winning the individual title and having the team advance:
"I was driving up here this week and I was just thinking about it being my senior year and how I didn't want it to be our last tournament. I can only really control what I do, so I really just wanted to go out and not leave anything out on the course and focus on every shot. I think I did that."
"I've always been pretty consistent but never really finished in the top three or four or even won, so this is great. I'm happier that our team is going on."
Rory Hie, Sophomore, USC:
On accomplishing their team goals for the week:
"We accomplished our goal. We just wanted to get through regionals. With a win, it gives us momentum heading into the NCAA finals."
On playing in the same pairing with Oregon's Joey Benedetti:
"He answered every birdie that I had it seemed like. He is a great player."
Zach Bixler, Senior, Washington:
On making the NCAA Finals during his senior season:
"It feels awesome. This is the first of my three years of making the nationals that it feels like we really had to work for it because no one was counting us in. Quite frankly, we didn't know if we could do it. But here we are. We got fourth and we made it look pretty easy."
On putting the responsibility of putting the team on his shoulders as a senior to advance:
"Nick stepped up big time for us. He made everyone kind of calm down because he was shooting low. But (Matt) Thurmond said the guys were kind of uptight this morning, but when they saw me get out to my good start they kind of relaxed a little bit."
