May 20, 2005
Oklahoma State Quotes
Pablo Martin – Freshman
On holing out twice from the fairway on par fours
I have never done that before. I holed out at No. 7 with a nine-iron from 140-something for an eagle, and then birdied at No. 9 with a six-iron.
On the Warren Golf Course
I think this is a great golf course. It is probably the best one we have played this season. It is really challenging, with small greens. You have to be really patient. It is easy to make bogeys and not very easy to make birdies. It is a great test.
Tyler Leon – Sophomore
On his round
It was a pretty funny round. I was +3 through four, but then I finally made a putt, and everything changed for me. I started playing well and just hung around all day and got in at -1.
On the Oklahoma State players that had to finish their first rounds this morning
We all had to wake up at 5:15 a.m., so that is never fun, but we’ve done it before. We are always excited to get out and play golf.. Pablo [Martin] went out and birdied the first hole, so he adapted pretty well. Then he shot 70 today [in the second round]. I think they all did fine. They knew what they had to do when they stepped on the course.
On the course conditions
With the weather, the course may have played easier yesterday. The greens firmed up a little bit today, and it was pretty challenging with the wind.
On being near the top of the team leaderboard
It is great to be near the top of the leaderboard, but you still just have to play one shot at a time. That is all you can do, just hit it and chase it.
On the Warren Golf Course
I love the golf course. They have done a great job here. It is a nice layout and is in really good shape. It is fun to play.
Augusta State Quotes
Kalle Edberg – Senior
On the course conditions
It was a little windy today, but it was sunny, too. So it wasn’t too bad today.
On the Warren Golf Course
I like this kind of course, where you have to hit it long and straight. I like tough courses.
On being near the top of the individual leaderboard
I am just trying to play my game, but that is how you help the team the most [by being near the top of the leaderboard]. I don’t look at the leaderboard that much. I just play my game and see how far that goes. That is the mindset I am trying to play with right now.
On the team’s attitude
I think we know that we have to go in trying to win this tournament instead of just trying to qualify. That is not going to work. We need to go in and play hard and see how far that takes us. It has been working so far.
On the team’s potential at the NCAA Championships
I definitely think we can win everything this year. We have a really strong team.
Kentucky Quotes
Mark Blakefield – Senior
On his hole-in-one on hole No. 14
I had 213 to the flag, so I hit a four-iron. I hit it perfect, and it just rolled in. I really hit it great. It was my first hole-in-one, period. It felt really nice.
On responding mentally to his hole-in-one
It was a little hard to maintain composure afterwards, because it got me pretty excited. But it wasn’t too big of a deal to recover from.
On the course conditions
The course is starting to firm up a little bit. The greens are a touch quicker. It is starting to play a little quicker than it was in the first round and on the practice-round day. It is getting a little firmer and a little faster as we go.
Matt Wells – Senior
On his round
I played well. It started off rough, but I made a lot of birdies and putted really well today.
On his early-round trouble
I hit a bad second shot on No. 2 – I wasn’t comfortable with my yardage – and made double [bogey]. But I recovered well, making birdie on the next hole. Lately I have been recovering well, much more than at the beginning of the year. I have been keeping my temper under control, so it has been going well. I have been putting well, so I know I am going to make a lot of putts, which can bring me back.
On the course conditions
The course was a lot different yesterday, mainly because of the weather. It was really raining a lot on my first nine. But today was a perfect day. The wind kicked up a little bit, and the [placement of the] pins were really tough today. I’m sure they’ll be even tougher tomorrow, but luckily I have been placing my ball really well on the greens. Plus, I was able to make a lot of putts.
On the greens
They are getting a little bit quicker and definitely are starting to firm up. The ball is spinning a little more off [approach] shots. It is definitely becoming a different course, but that is how it was in the practice round, so we got to see this before.
On the team’s prospects
We haven’t really played like ourselves yet. I played well today, but nobody else is really playing that great. We definitely have our best golf ahead of us. We are looking forward to it, and we definitely need to play really well tomorrow in order to get in.