Men's Golf Tees It Up At Duck Invitational
March 18, 2004
CORVALLIS, Ore. - -
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THIS WEEK: Oregon State looks to take an important step toward NCAA Regional Championship qualification Monday-Tuesday, March 22-23 at the Oregon Duck Invitational men's golf tournament at Shadow Hills Country Club in Junction City, Ore.
The Beavers have a chance to earn valuable wins over regional competitors this week, including Pac-10 foes Oregon, Stanford and Washington State.
To do so, the Beavers will have to conquer the third-round blues that have plagued them for much of the year. OSU averages nine fewer shots in the second round (302.3) compared to the third (311).
"We've just got to get over the hump in the third round," OSU coach Brian Watts said. "The positive side of that is that we're doing good things in the first and second rounds to put ourselves in position to win the tournaments, so I'm pleased with that.
"We've stayed positive over the last three weeks. The guys are starting to believe in themselves and that they deserve to win. When they believe that they can win tournaments, that will make a big difference. I think we're there. They're ready to play and they feel that they have something to prove."
Sean Deacon (sr.), Ryan Gilmour (fr.), Brian Kelley (so.) and Mitch Gillis (fr.) will make the trip to Eugene; the fifth member will be determined in Friday's final qualifying round. Both Kelley and Gillis carded 69s in the most recent qualifying round at Shadow Hills.
Gilmour and Deacon have provided steady play throughout the year. Until the last two tournaments, Gilmour finished no lower than 21st, and boasts a 72.83 average while playing in every tournament as a true freshman. In the first tournament of his career, Gilmour finished fifth at OSU's Northwest Classic.
Deacon, with a 73.28 mark, has four finishes of 26th or better, including a tie for ninth at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational last fall.
Kelley has two top-10s to his credit, including a tie for fifth at the MacKenzie.
Last year at the Eugene Country Club, Arizona and Washington split the title while Oregon's John Ellis and Washington's Brock Mackenzie shared medalist honors with a 9-under 207. Mackenzie netted a 60 in the second round. OSU tied for 12th, with Cameron MacKenzie earning a tie for 23rd in his first action in over a year.
"Shadow Hills is a great course," Watts said. "We're comfortable there and know the layout. We're hoping for some rain - we always seem to find a way to get the job done in the rain." Play begins at 8 a.m. each morning; teams play 36 holes Monday and 18 Tuesday.
COMPLETE FIELD: Cal State-Northridge, Drake, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland, San Diego, San Diego State, Stanford, Utah Valley State, Washington State and Wyoming.
HEAD COACH Brian Watts enters his third season as the head men's golf coach at Oregon State after spending three seasons as the assistant for both the men's and women's programs at OSU. With Watts at the helm, the Beavers returned to postseason action last year and are poised to continue their tradition of excellence for years to come.
Watts brings to the program a wealth of experience from his years on professional tours, but equally important is his understanding of Northwest recruiting and the use of OSU's state-of-the-art facilities.
Prior to taking the reigns at OSU, Watts helped both the men's and women's teams advance to their respective NCAA West Regional Championships as an assistant during two different stints. The highlight came at the end of the 2000-01 campaign when the men's squad used a run late in the year to advance to the NCAA Championships for the third time in the school's history. With Watts' help, the Beavers made the cut for the first time, and ended their season with a 12th-place finish at the NCAAs.
