First Round Quotes
May 28, 2008 | Men's Golf
May 28, 2008
NCAA Div. I Men's Golf Championship
First Round Quotes:
UW Head Coach Matt Thurmond
On the team's opening round performance:
"We got off to a great start. Conditions were really difficult and we were just awesome in the first nine. Even early in the second nine - we thought the toughest holes were 11, 12 and 13 and we played them really well. And then...this course just keeps coming at you. In the last two holes we played terribly. But all in all, it was a pretty decent day. It's tough because we could have really had a great day if we had finished better. With the conditions being as difficult as they were, had we finished better it could have been an awesome round. As it is, it's still an okay round and there are a lot of teams in a much worse situation than we are."
On the play of senior Zach Bixler:
"He just played awesome. He makes a few putts and he shoots under par out there today. We're real proud of him, that's what you look for from your senior. Everyone is nervous on the first day at the NCAA Championships and your senior goes out there and leads the team, that's great."
On the team's spirits after the first day:
"I think they are down right now because they know we were so close to really having a good round. That will last for awhile. But then they'll be fine in a few hours. It's disappointing because we played in such tough conditions this morning and the afternoon round is going to be pretty easy, but you just can't control that. I think there will be a lot of teams finishing ahead of us that played in the afternoon even though we'll probably place pretty well in our wave."
On getting ready for tomorrow's afternoon round:
"We're going to rest up and have some fun, get our minds off it. It's such a grind out there that we need to do some fun things to get away from it for a bit."
UW Senior Zach Bixler
On today's round:
"I know everyone was battling. It was a tough day out there. I think we're pleased with where we were, maybe not our finish as much, but we've put ourselves in okay position."
On how the course played compared to the two practice rounds:
"It played about the same. The first 10 or 11 holes were just brutal and pars were awesome scores. Then towards the end, whether those were the easier holes or not, more birdie chances were there and it seemed to be a little easier."
Did the wind have any effect?
"Yes, it had a big effect. It was a cold, stiff wind and it was tough to gauge how far the ball was going."
On tomorrow's afternoon round and possibly playing in better conditions:
"Hopefully the wind stops at about 1 p.m. and we'll be playing in calm conditions. We've played practice rounds in the morning and afternoon, so we've played both conditions. We know it's going to be hard no matter when we play, we just need to be patient."
