As the UW men’s golf team’s season draws to a close there is just one more conquest that lies ahead: the Big Ten tournament. It decides who will continue and who will go home. The men’s golf team will find out in which direction they are headed this weekend, May 3-5, when they head off to the 2002 Big Ten tournament in Iowa City, Iowa to tee off on the 72-hole golf course in hopes of a conference title.
Some of the top contenders in the tournament are Northwestern, followed by Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois. Although these teams have played well all year, each team in the Big Ten has an equal chance of bringing home the title.
Of the 11 teams, only five players will represent each team and the scores will be taken from only the top four players. Representing UW is top player Jon Turcott, freshman Kevin Tassistoro, freshman Dylan Esterling, junior Joel Rechlicz and freshman Mike Baldwin.
Although the season has been a tough one for the Badgers, the season statistics show that each player has the ability to play well enough to win this weekend and it is just a matter of proving they can play.
“The players know they can [win]–the stats say they can,” assistant coach Pat Gorman said.
Each player is very excited and confident about the tournament and the atmosphere was upbeat in practice this week. All the players are concentrating on what they do best and trying to improve in areas that need improvement.
“We have a chance at winning and we are all capable of shooting well; it is just a matter of putting it all together this weekend,” Kevin Tassistoro said.
Each player will play four rounds of golf and in each of those rounds the players need to particularly concentrate on their short games.
“The short game is what it comes down to and making sure that we execute on the birdie opportunities,” said Gorman. “Also, we have to make the putts when it counts and have confidence that we will make the putts.”
Throughout the season, the weather caused 166 holes of golf to be lost due to rain and snow. These missed opportunities to practice the short game might be a factor in this weekend’s tournament. However, the Badgers won’t let a little rain affect their playing because they have been used to worse conditions this entire season.
As Tassistoro put it, “We have to play in any sort of weather.”
Tuesday’s practice consisted entirely of work on the short game, chipping and putting. The players also played competitive games against each other to get prepared for the intense upcoming weekend.
“We try not to compare each other to the other players, we just have to do the best we can,” Tassistoro said.
This weekend will pose the ultimate test for the Badgers in a season of wins and losses, giving only one team a trip to the NCAA regional finals while the rest will have to go home empty-handed.
