McFarland doesn’t plan on cooling off as Aggie golf takes winter hiatus
Tyson McFarland and the USU golf team have unfinished business.
After ending the autumn portion of the season with a sixth-place tie and a score of one under par (143) at the Bill Cullum invitational hosted by Cal State, McFarland said he wants to win some tournaments this spring.
“It was a really good field and good to compete at a higher level,” McFarland said. “I want to win, finish going out on top.”
Aggie golf coach Dean Johansen said McFarland is one of the more focused players he has been around on the college golf scene.
“He knows how to play under pressure and win under pressure. He knows what it takes to get it done,” Johansen said. “(McFarland is) very focused and very driven that way. I think that’s a great quality as a person.”
When he graduated from Madison High School in Rexburg, Idaho, McFarland was recruited by then No. 4-Brigham Young University. After spending his freshman year in Provo, McFarland said he didn’t like it there and that the move to Logan was one of the best decisions he has made.
He said his father also played collegiate golf for USU.
“I’ve loved my time at Utah State,” McFarland said. “I didn’t want to go too far from my family. Dean gave me an opportunity to play.”
Now a senior, McFarland took third place at the Purple and Red invitational, an event co-hosted by the University of Utah and Weber State University in October. He shot a collegiate-best five under par to finish with a final score of 211. Johansen said McFarland is one of the first at practice and one of the last to leave.
“On a golf team, for the younger kids to see someone like that having success, it makes them want to work harder,” Johansen said. “It’s working out for him, but as a team, we’re getting better because the younger kids can see what he’s doing.
Johansen said he is pleased with the performance of his team so far this year.
“We’ve had a good fall. I’ve been happy with the performance of the kids in class and on the course,” Johansen said. “It seems like we haven’t had a tournament yet where all five players have played their best; that’s what it takes to win a golf event or to finish in the top three.”
As a team, Utah State golf has placed as high as eighth in an invitational, also fighting Southern Utah to a draw in a Ryder Cup-style match in Cedar City.
During the winter, Johansen said his team will be doing everything they can to stay in shape before picking competition back up in February.
“How well you prepare in winter is a telltale sign of how you’ll do in the spring. I’ve been really pleased in the last three or four years with what the guys will do,” Johansen said. He said mentally, it can be difficult to go golfing when there is a foot of snow on the ground.
Originally hailing from Idaho, McFarland said he is accustomed to battling the winter snows during the golfing offseason. Johansen said to keep his golfers in top condition, they go to an indoor driving range in Ogden and travel to Saint George every weekend to shoot a round of golf.
McFarland said he has a lot of unfinished business for when the season resumes, as well as some personal goals that he has set for himself.
“I want to be first team all-WAC, win some tournaments. I want to play good, consistent golf,” McFarland said. “On the tee I think of how I can play the best in myself and let the results fall where they may. I just want to play well.”
Coach Johansen said the rest of the team is looking toward spring with high expectations.
“The guys have been happy with that success they’ve had and also have seen how good they can be as a team,” Johansen said. “The focus is BYU and conference. Everything in the spring is pointed to those two events.
When play resumes, the Aggies will take part in the Pat Hicks Thunderbird invitational in Saint George, Utah. The tournament will be a two-day event, beginning Feb. 14, 2011.
McFarland said the team has been experiencing some renewed fire from within.
“Expect some championships,” McFarland said.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu