Men's Golf at Pac-10 Championships
April 23, 1998
SCHEDULE: The Oregon State University men's golf team will compete at the 1998 Pacific-10 Conference Championships April 27-29 at the Orinda Country Club in Orinda, Cal. The Orinda Country Club, which is located just east of Berkeley, will play to 6,352 yards and carry a par of 72. This marks the second time the Pac-10 Championships have been held at the Orinda CC, the course also played host to the 1988 event.
THE FIELD: Oregon State is joined by No. 4 Arizona, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 24 USC, No. 31 UCLA, No. 40 Washington, No. 42 Stanford, No. 45 California, Oregon and Washington State.
FORMAT: The teams will be made up of six players, with the five best scores per round counting toward the team total. The teams will play 36 holes Monday, followed by 18 holes Tuesday and Wednesday.
TEAM: Oregon State Head Coach Mike Ketcham has announced the following players will be competing in the Pac-10 Conference Championships:
Anthony Arvidson, Fr., Beaverton, OR (Sunset HS) Arvidson has played in every tournament this season_second in scoring for the team at 74.6 strokes per round_has one top 10 finish, winning the Oregon Duck Invitational with a three-round total of 210_shot rounds of 67 and 69 at the Duck Invitational_has shot six rounds under par this season.
Justin Johnson, Jr., Castro Valley, CA (Chabot JC/Castro Valley HS) Team leader for scoring at 74.2 strokes per round_has played in all but one tournament_has four top-25 finishes this season, including tied for fourth at the Oregon Duck Invitational_has six rounds under par, including a career low 67 at the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate_also scored a 68 at the Taylor Made Intercollegiate.
Chris Janson, Sr., Chehalis, WA (Chehalis HS) Janson is averaging 74.9 per round_has three top 10 finishes for the season - tied for fifth at the Nike Northwest Classic, tied for sixth at the Oregon Duck Invitational, and eighth at the Taylor Made Intercollegiate_has five rounds under par, including a 69 at the Duck Invitational_has competed in the Pac-10 Championships twice, placing tied for 50th last season and tied for 37th in 1996.
Eric Fiskum, Sr., Salem, OR (South Salem HS) Fiskum is averaging 75.4 strokes per round_best finish has been tied for 22nd at the Southwestern Intercollegiate_also tied for 33rd at the Oregon Duck Invitational_has played in 27 tournaments during his OSU career_has competed in one Pac-10 Championship, placing tied for 38th last season.
David Crowell, So., Corvallis, OR (Crescent Valley HS) Crowell has participated in six tournaments, averaging 76.3 strokes per round_his best finish for the year was tied for 25th at the season opener at the Relia Star Invitational in Minnesota_has one round under par for the season_this will be his first Pac-10 Championships.
Alex Palm, Sr., Roseburg, OR (Roseburg HS) Palm has played in two tournaments this season, averaging 75.3_season low round has been a 72 at the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate_was not a member of the team last season, but did play in 1996 and 1995_played in the '95 Pac-10 Championships, where he finished tied for 50th.
KETCHAM ON THE TEAM: "I saw signs of us breaking out of our funk we have been in in the last three tournaments. I have felt like the focus has been there in recent tournaments, but we just seem to be in a rut. Our goals our to continue to improve and try to better our finish as compared to last year's Pac-10 Championships."
KETCHAM ON THE COURSE: "The Orinda Country Club is a very tight course, in fact our players will use their drivers maybe three or four times. It is a position type of course, and one where you have to posses a lot of patience. You can't go in and expect to overpower the Orinda Country Club, and it's a course which demands a great deal of accuracy. We have been practicing at the Corvallis Country Club of late to help prepare for some of the tight holes we'll see at Orinda."
LAST YEAR: Oregon State finished eighth at last year's conference tournament, held at the Eugene Country Club. The Beavers posted a 72-hole total of 1487. Arizona State won the team title (1445) for the third consecutive year and fourth time in five years. Charles Kingsbaker, currently an assistant coach with the women's team, tied for fifth at 286 to lead OSU. The only two current Beavers who played in the tournament last season are Eric Fiskum (302) and Chris Janson (312).
LAST TIME AT ORINDA: Oregon State finished ninth with a 54-hole total of 1169 at the Orinda Country Club in 1988 (May 2-4). Washington captured the team title at 1104, followed by Arizona (1110), Arizona State (1132), Stanford (1153), USC (1154), Oregon (1155), California (1158), UCLA (1159), Oregon State (1169), and Washington State (1185).
Steve Altman, who would go on to be the Head Coach at Oregon State (1992-96) led the team with a 14-over-par 230 score. Altman finished 21st. O.D. Vincent of Washington won the individual title at 214. Other notable players to finish near the top in this tournament were Billy Mayfair (ASU) and Robert Gamez (UA).
OREGON STATE AT THE PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Oregon State has never won the conference championship - its best finish ever was fourth at the 1994 event in Tucson. Washington is the only school from the Pacific Northwest to claim at Pac-10 title (1988). O.D. Vincent (1988) of Washington is also the only individual from a Pacific Northwest school to be the medalist. The lone Beaver to earn the individual title was Scott Masingill in 1971.
