Men's Golf Looks to Continue Hot Start
September 24, 1998
Corvallis, Ore. -
SCHEDULE: The Oregon State men's golf team returns to action Sept. 28-29 at the 54-hole Husky Invitational at the Gold Mountain Olympic Golf Course in Bremerton, Wash. The Olympic Golf Course will play to 7,003 yards and carry a par of 72. Thirty-six holes will be played Monday, followed by 18 Tuesday. The tournament will have a unique scoring as the five best scores on the six-member team will count toward the team's total -- the only other tournament played with this format is the Pacific-10 Conference Championships.
THE TEAM: Oregon State third-year Head Coach Mike Ketcham had not completely determined his team as of Thursday. He has announced five of the six individuals making the trip, and they are as follows: Anthony Arvidson, So., Beaverton (75.2 scoring avg.); Eric Dahm, Jr., Tualatin (72.7); Justin Johnson, Sr. Castro Valley, CA (75.0); John Lepak, Fr., La Habra Heights, CA (72.3); Dustin Wayne, Jr., Alameda, CA (71.5); TBA (6th member)
THE FIELD: The tournament will be made up of 10 teams, including host Washington. The remaining teams are Oregon State, No. 23 BYU, No. 22 California, Nevada, Northwestern, Oregon, Stanford, Tulsa and Wash. State.
KETCHAM ON THE TEAM: "One of the things I find most impressive about this team so far, is they have shot lower scores in each round of the two tournaments we have played -- that is something I'm extremely proud of. We have been very consistent in that we have been playing our best golf on the last day. I tell this team every day, if you can stay in the tournament and play your best round the last day, you'll pass a lot of teams and possibly have a chance to win the title."
HE'S NOT KIDDING! OSU has improved its score in each round of its first two tournaments. The season opener at the William Tucker Intercollegiate, the Beavers fired 299-296-291, and in the Pacific Invitational shot 290-284-281. In fact, OSU has shot its highest round for year in its very first 18, and its lowest round in its most recent 18. The Beavers also passed five teams the final day of the William Tucker Intercollegiate and four teams the final day at the Pacific Invitational .
BEST START SINCE 1993-94: The Oregon State men's golf team is off to its best start since the 1993-94 season, when they posted a pair of top five finishes to start the season. This year's club opened the year fifth at the William Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque and followed with a second-place showing at the Pacific Invitational. The 1993-94 club eventually played in the NCAA Championshps behind standout players Birk Nelson, Charles Kingsbaker, Anthony Kang, Kevin LaMair and Marty James.
SUBPAR: Through just 108 holes of golf, Oregon State players have a combined 10 rounds under par. Dustin Wayne leads the group with four subpar rounds, followed by John Lepak and Eric Dahm with two, and Justin Johnson and Anthony Arvidson with one each. Dahm and Wayne have each carded 67s this year, both at last week's Pacific Invitational. Last year's team shot 25 rounds under par for the entire season.
TRYSTING TREE RATES HIGH: Golfweek Magazine rated the 10-year-old Trysting Tree Golf Club as the third-best collegiate golf course in the West. Trysting Tree trailed only the Stanford Golf Course and the University of New Mexico's South Course in the ranking. Trysting Tree carries a par of 72 and generally plays around 7,000 yards for any women's intercollegiate tournament.
NORTHWEST INVITATIONAL ON THE HORIZON: The annual Northwest Invitational will be held Oct. 5-6 at the Trysting Tree Golf Club. The 54-hole event will begin with 36 holes Monday.
