Wake Forest Athletics
Blog: Traveling With The Deacons To Tempe
5/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 18, 2007
The third in a series of blogs written by sophomore Dustin Groves, a key member of the Demon Deacon golf team. Wake Forest is participating this week at the NCAA West Regional in Tempe, Ariz. The top 10 teams will advance to the NCAA Championships later this month in Williamsburg, Va. Groves gives a behind-the-scenes look at traveling with the Deacons.
Hello Deacon Fans.
The team was finally able to sleep in a little bit Thursday because of our afternoon tee time. We ate brunch at what has become our favorite place in Tempe, Einstein's bagels. Sean had his typical breakfast, which consisted of a sausage, egg and cheese bagel, a peanut butter bagel, a Mountain Dew and a chocolate milk.
Everyone seemed to be confident and collected while we were eating; it was clear that everyone had shifted into tournament mode.
When we arrived at the course I think everyone was a little surprised how hot it was for only being 10:30 in the morning. It does not take long to warm up because of the weather, so everyone has to alter their warm-up routine just a little.
We got off to a great start. Brendan birdied his first two holes, which helped the team reach a 4-under par through only five holes. We cooled off quickly and ended up only shooting 3-under as a team for the day. Webb and Chris both played very well, while Sean, Brendan and I struggled.
It seems like this entire year we always have 1 or 2 guys play very well, but can never seem to get all 5 guys playing well at one time.
After seeing the course for the first time in a competitive situation, we discussed over dinner what we need to do to play better as a whole. We ate at P.F. Changs, where Webb and I split two of the hottest meals I have ever eaten. My mouth was on fire after just a couple bites of Chang's spicy chicken which Webb assured me would not be "that hot".
Even though we did not play our best Thursday, we are only 4 shots out of 10th place, which is what we need to finish to move on to the NCAA Championship. We are all still confident and are excited to play early Friday morning. Playing in the morning will give us smoother greens and cooler weather which equals low scores. Until the good news tomorrow...
Prediction - Seve Ballesteros will win his first Champions Tour event
Players Mentioned
