Men's golf plans to vary line up during season

By Nicholas Pinkerton

The men's golf team will be using a balanced approach in tournament competition this season, as all nine of the players will continue to challenge for five roster spots in each of their remaining matches.

The team had a different tournament roster every time they played a fall match, and Head Coach Robert Miller expects the same competitive outcome from his team in the spring season.

"We have kind of an unusual program this year," Miller said. "We have nine players that are pretty equally similar."

Senior Tim Lynch finds that the equal level of competition benefits the team's chances of tournament success.

"I think that's good for us because we could be sending any one of the nine guys to any particular event and still do well," he said.

Among the nine golfers, there are three seniors, one junior, four sophomores and one freshman, all of whom made at least one appearance at a fall tournament. It has only happened once that more than one senior has qualified for the same tournament.

Though the three seniors have yet to play a tournament together, they still serve as team leaders.

"It helps to have three seniors who have been here for four years, who have gone through the process and put in our time here. We've kind of nourished (the other players) as they've come up," said Lynch.

A set roster is out of the question for the team, but sophomores Scott Travers and Jimmy Cacho have qualified for every tournament thus far.

Throughout the season, Travers and Cacho have played the most consistently out of the nine golfers, according to Miller.

The team is set on winning the West Coast Conference title, and in doing so would qualify for the NCAA West Regional event. Lynch said that if the team fails to do so, they will need an at-large bid to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

The team is focused on improving their national ranking this spring season. Finishing with a national ranking in the top 60 to 70 teams will be a valuable factor in qualifying for the West Regionals, said Miller.

WCC competition is stiff, with Pepperdine, University of San Francisco, Saint Mary's and University of San Diego providing the Broncos with many challenges, that according to Lynch, they have already faced this season.

"We had a couple chances in the fall where we had a chance to (win as a team), and just one round here or there could've gone either way," said Lynch.

The team has prepared for the spring season, playing 36 holes three times a week and working on chipping and putting during the other two or three practice days.

Exposure to competition has also guided the individual players on the team toward believing they can seize the conference title.

"This spring, we're all getting more and more comfortable with competition," said Lynch. "I think we've got a great shot at winning West Coast Conference. A lot of the guys believe we can. I think that will drive us to reach the postseason."

This week the team will travel to Waikoloa, Hawaii, to compete in the Hilo Invitational. The event features multiple top-50 ranked programs from across the nation.

Miller believes that the golfers' trust in each other can help guide them toward their spring and season goals, as well as a good finish in this weekend's invitational.

"They're just all really confident in each other," he said. "They've worked hard to get here, and they're rooting for each other."

Contact Nicholas Pinkerton at (408) 551-1918 or npinkerton@scu.edu.