If it wasn?t for the superb performance of sophomore Luke Swilor earlier this week at the Countrywide Invitational, the Utah golf team would have followed the theme of its first two meets?not up to par.
Swilor shot a 77 in the first of his three rounds Monday, on pace with his mediocre average of 77.33 through six rounds of golf this year.
?I was hitting good the first round, but I got some bad breaks. Weird things happened,? he said, describing one instance when he set to take a shot and his ball rolled down a hill, resulting in a penalty.
But Swilor gathered himself after round one. ?I told myself I was good enough to be out there,? he said.
The mental coaching turned in results. Swilor fired an even-par 72 the second round, followed by a 3-under par 69 to close the tournament at 2 (218). The best Ute performance of the year earned Swilor a tie for sixth place in a field of 120 golfers.
?Golf is a mental game,? said coach Wayne Fisher. ?[His performance] will build confidence. The first step is to show he?s capable of doing it.?
With Swilor?s contribution, the Utes improved eleven strokes from their previous meet, carding an overall 904 ( 40). The score boosted the Utes into 10th place in the field of 24.
Swilor was solid, but the rest of the team was unfortunately on par with previous results.
Paul Winterowd fired a 2-over 74 in the first round of the tournament, but an 84 in the second round would drop the senior to 17 (233) and a 75th-place finish.
?Seniors at the U have struggled from year to year,? Fisher said. ?I think they have other things on their mind with graduation?With Paul it?s a mental thing. I expect him to do well.?
Also similar was the exceptional play of a freshman in his first meet. After Ashdon Woods shot a team-best 11 last week, freshman Nick Micek got his shot in his first collegiate tournament. Micek shot rounds of 79-77-75 to finish at 15. In his final round, Micek bogeyed the final three holes, narrowly missing an even par round. But there is no secret to the freshman success. ?We?re just sticking to our game plan,? Micek said of Woods and himself. ?We?re just playing for the middle of the green.?
The golf team has one more meet before a three-month layoff. Utah will compete at the Collegiate Classic in San Diego, Calif., Nov. 8 and 9, but then takes a break before returning to the greens Feb. 20 at the John Burns Invitational in Hawaii.
The team has high aspirations for the final meet of the fall slate. ?We want to finish in the top five,? Swilor said. ?It is another strong field, but we?ve got to prove we belong out there.?