Golf fares well on the road
Utah State’s golf team got back in action this week, playing in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Aggies finished 17th in the 20-team tournament, with a score of 33-over 873. USU was led again by junior Chanse Godderidge, who shot a 5-under 65 on Tuesday to give him a total score of 5-over 215, and a tie for 30th place. The team champion was Baylor and the individual champion was Tarquin Macmanus of Arizona.
“After his good performance last weekend, he (Godderidge) came out totally different,” USU head coach Dean Johansen said. “He’s always had a good attitude, but he seemed a little more fired up.”
The tournament started on Monday, when the teams played 36 holes, followed by only 18 on Tuesday. Godderidge came out to play as he carded a 2-under 68 through the first 18, but then struggled a bit shooting a 12-over 82 through the next 18. The Aggies as a team were in 17th place after the first day, mainly due to senior Benjamin Schilleman, who finished the first day tied for 25th after rounds of 72 and 71.
“It helped that we were able to practice this week,” Johansen said. “We were a little bit sharper than we were then we were at Cal Poly. We’re still not as sharp as we’d like to be, but we’re getting there.”
Similar to their performance at Cal Poly, the Aggies came out strong on the second day of play. On Tuesday USU shot a 3-over 283, 11 shots better than the previous day.
Johansen also talked about the mental and emotional difference between this tournament and their last.
“There’s a difference when you come to a tournament and it’s not raining, it’s not cold, and you’ve been able to practice. You feel like you can compete,” he said.
Tuesday was also a historic day for Godderidge and the Aggies. After struggling through the second round, Godderidge came back with the best round of his career, and the best performance for an Aggie since Devin Daniels shot a 64 during the 2007-08 season at a tournament in Palm Springs, California
“He had a real good practice round and both Barry (the assistant coach) and I felt like after the practice round that he was going to play well this week,” Johansen said. “He struggled on the second round for about four or five holes, but other than that he played a good week of golf.”
Tuesday’s performance was also very good for USU as a team. The Aggies score of 283 was the ninth best of the day, an accomplishment with which Johansen was quite pleased.
“That is probably the strongest field we’ve seen in years.” Johansen said. “It’s good for the guys to see that, for the day, they beat some really good teams.”
USU now has just one more tournament before the WAC championships. They head down to Provo, Utah for the PING Cougar Classic on April 15-16. As it is their last tournament before the conference tournament, Johansen is looking to use it effectively to get them ready.
“We’ve got to get sharper from 100 yards and in,” Johansen said. “That’s one of the first things that goes when the weather turns bad. We need to keep getting better and better.”
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