Husky Golf Assured Of Top Eight National Finish
May 28, 2009 | Men's Golf
May 28, 2009
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2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championships
May 28, 2009 * 3rd Round
Post-Round Quotes
Washington Head Coach Matt Thurmond
"I think we are all just real exhausted after that one. That was a real grind. It felt like regionals all over again. We had to play really well today. That front nine has been tough all week. It is a tougher nine and we turned okay. As it looks, we had to shoot, at worst, a few over on that front nine and we haven't been close to that all week. Then, we had a little bit of trouble in the middle of it. The way we finished, though, was just awesome. I kept saying all week that we were play okay, we were hanging in there. But, we haven't hit the big shots we need to hit - big shots that make a winning team. I actually told Nick (Taylor) on the 12th tee that I am finally seeing some big shots from some of (his) teammates. It was the first time all week that I've seen it. To see the way they played coming in - (Chris) Killmer birdies his last two. Richard (Lee) birdies his last three. Nick makes good pars. He made a good par save on 16. (Darren) Wallace birdied 17 - his 17th hole coming in (#8 on the course). To make that many birdies coming in, on tough holes, when the whole season - everything you work for - is on the line, it takes some special people. The guys got the job done."
Washington Junior Richard Lee
"I was fortunate to birdie my last three holes - numbers seven, eight and nine after I made double-bogey on six. I hit into a tree and had to take an unplayable on that hole. So, I was pretty pleased with the way I was able to finish today. Today, I had six birdies and two double-bogeys. It was tough today. I had to battle back and not let it get into my head. I came back with good putts and good shots. So, I'm happy with the way I handled myself. (Going into the final three holes) I took a peek at the leaderboard when I was on seven green and I saw that we were two or three over for the day. At that point, it didn't look too good. When I play golf, I don't try to force a birdie or try to make a certain score. (The putt on nine for birdie) was about 20-feet. That was a tricky one - downhill slider. (On UW's match play in the final three rounds) Guys on our team tend to make a lot of birdies, which you really need to do in match play. I think we have a great shot. Whoever we play, I think we will be a tough team to face. I enjoy match play. It is definitely different, going one-on-one. It is more exciting. In a way, it is kind of surprising (the NCAA champion is determined by match play) because we rarely play match play. This will be our first match play tournament. I don't really know what to expect, but I am excited."
Washington Junior Darren Wallace
"The main goal (of the team) is to make the top eight and I think we are looking okay for that. Now we need to focus on match play. (Conditions today) were alright. The wind never really picked-up and stopped early. We only had to play a couple of holes in the rain. I'm a little disappointed with my round today. I had a few putts that I could have made. I had a few shots that I didn't execute as I wanted to. Overall, getting to match play is what is important and we have done that. I think, overall, as a group we are pretty happy. (On his finish on number nine) The drive came up well short - it was played into the wind. It was about 30 yards shorter than I had been driving previously. I thought I was playing (the approach) into the wind so I took an extra club. There was actually no wind and it went further. It seemed to fly and carry and never come down. It landed in the tree (behind the green). I was able to get a stance and small swing and I was able to drop it, get up and down and save bogey. (The team has) high expectations for ourselves. We never really wanted to settle on just making match play. Throughout the year, we have had the goal of having the best round of the day out there. We didn't exactly accomplish that today, but we can't be too disappointed at having a chance at the championship."
