Q: In your first tournament [in the fall] you guys came in sixth place out of the six teams competing and the next tournament you guys finished in first, is there anything that you did differently in that tournament that propelled this team to first?
A: I think the first we were just nervous, it’s just tough to trust ourselves from going from the range and practicing and then implementing that onto the golf course. Golf is kind of a fickle game, if you don’t trust yourself you will be kinda screwed on that.
Q: You and [teammate] Dalton Stevens are both from Iowa; did you guys know each other before coming here?
A: Two years of golf I played at Kirkwood Community College with Dalton. I lived in a different city, so we knew each other as golfers, but coming to Saint Xavier and living with each other. It’s kind of developed more of a bond and a friendship and I got to know him a little bit more here than I did at Kirkwood Community College.
Q: What is your ultimate achievement when it comes to golfing?
A: There are a lot of things, but I think as a golfer there is always to reach the top level. To be a PGA professional, that is a pretty futuristic dream, but I would say that is the number one goal.
Q: If you could sit down with any professional golfer, who would that be and why?
A: If I could sit down with somebody, my favorite golfer of all time is Ben Hogan just kind of for what he did for the game. I never got an actual lesson before coming here and working with Mike [Mandakas], our head coach. It was just kind of me doing my own thing. I think it would be awesome to sit down and just see the intellectual side he has of the game.
Q: Your major is Psychology, what is it that you would like to do with that?
A: I’m going into Industrial Psychology. My mom is in HR and she has been doing it all her life so I’ve been able to talk to people and that never has been too hard for me to do. So, I just kind of want to do something in the HR kind of field. Help people out with emotional distress and that is what I am leaning to is HR.
Q: What is the most difficult thing about golf?
A: The mental aspect for me. It is pretty easy to hit the ball, but to know where it is going and throughout the rounds you could have six good holes and then you hit that bump in the road and it is just kind of what you do from there to overcome that obstacle.
Q: What is the worst weather that you have golfed in before?
A: I have golfed when it’s snowing. My senior year of high school, it was snowing the last nine holes and we had a good half inch on the ground by the time I finished up.
Q: Fill in the blank; I’m a blank and proud of it
A: I am a SXU golfer and I am proud to support the University, and I try to show it not only on the golf course, but just in the best way I can.
To view the video interview of this athlete spotlight along with other video interviews please visit sxucougars.com and click on the Cougar Close-Ups link.
Greg Pilafas
Deputy Editor in Chief