2002 Men’s NCAA Golf Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler
On the conditions
“It’s hard, with all the water on the course and with people walking all over the green makes those five to six foot putts and chips not go down as easy. All our guys can do is just try to make their shots.”
“It’s a hard golf course and if you hit it in the rough, you have to be smart about it. Try not to make any big errors and I am happy were we are right now. All five guys feel as if they have a chance to play well on the last 36 holes, and all five feel that they have momentum.”
Georgia Tech’s Troy Matteson
“I think for everybody there is pressure just being here to play well regardless were they say you are ranked before you come in here, there is pressure on everybody. There isn’t any extra pressure on us. We have been here before. We are just trying to do the things we need to do to play well. We are not worried about were we stand with everybody. We are just trying to play our own game.”
Clemson head coach Larry Penley
On team’s position after second round
“Well I really like it.”
“It is a totally different golf course than it was in the fall at the (Ping) Preview. We really didn’t know how short this course was going to be, which attributed to some of the high scoring yesterday.”
Clemson’s D.J. Trahan
“We started on the 10th hole the second time around and I got out of the gates quick by birdying 13, 14 and 15 in a row. I had a little stumble on 18. I made my way to the front nine and birdied four and five. Any birdie on five is great.”
Washington sophomore Brock McKenzie
“I played a lot better today than I did yesterday. I only had one bogey and three birdies (today). I was able to chip in on two and eight. I was kind of shaky yesterday. Today I was able to strike the ball much better down the fairways. If someone had told me before the tournament that I was going to be seven-under after two rounds, I definitely would have taken it.
“I don’t usually get off to fast starts in tournaments. It’s good for me because it helps me relax, even though I’ll probably be nervous again tomorrow. When you have a nice lead, it allows you to hit a bogey and not drop far behind. It gives you a nice cushion.”
North Carolina sophomore Dustin Bray
“I am happy were I am at. I won the ACC Championship so that was a big confidence booster coming in but I played poorly at the regional, which I think helped me prepare for this golf tournament. I felt I let my team down at regional so I really dedicated myself the last week or so to make sure I was prepared for this tournament.”
“The course is playing kind of long for me but all these other guys are bombing their drives past me by 30 yards. I think that it is fair, with the rough the way it is, they are being fair with the pin placement. On the easier holes the pin placements are harder, but on the harder holes the placements are lenient, which give you a chance to get a birdie even if you have a five or six iron in your hand.”
