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USGA Men's State Team Blog
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Miskell Helps Texas Do Title Two-Step
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Congratulations to Texas, which won its second consecutive USGA Men's State Team title.
Although Terrence Miskell, the only player also on the victorious 2005 Texas team, didn't record a score that counted toward the team's total until today, what he did on the seventh and eighth holes in all three rounds this week cannot be overlooked.
Three times Miskell stepped up to the 303-yard, par-4 seventh, and three times he left with an eagle on his card. Twice he drove the green and once he chipped in from just off the green.
And, in three consecutive rounds, he followed that up with a birdie on the par-4, 423-yard eighth.
Not bad for someone who struggled with a shoulder injury all week.
"You just grin and bear it and grit your teeth and get through it," said Miskell. "Because if you start whining about being sore, there’s no excuses. Sometimes you have to play through the pain."
Play through it he did, recording an even-par 72 Thursday to help the Lone Star State take the title by a stroke.
Thanks to everyone for reading the 2007 USGA Men's State Team blog. We received a lot of nice comments from many of the players about the coverage on the web site, and that means a lot. It's our pleasure to get these great players and this event as much coverage as we can.
See you next time!
Beth Murrison |
Ace!
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We just had the first hole-in-one of the 2007 USGA Men's State Team! Bill Hermanson of Connecticut aced the 222-yard ninth hole during the morning's third round.
It is just the fifth hole-in-one in the seven playings of the Men's State Team., and the first since the 2001 championship.
Beth Murrison
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Day Two In The Books
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We could be looking at quite a shootout at The Club at Carlton Woods' Fazio Course tomorrow in the third and final round. Alabama holds a two-stroke lead but there are several teams with a chance to make a run tomorrow. Will Alabama hold on? Will Texas regain its first-round form, or will South Carolina continue to build on today's fine play? Or will a team come out of nowhere to shock the field? Stay tuned!
The low score of the second round belonged to Todd Mitchell of Illinois, who shot a 6-under 66, the championship's low through two rounds. Mitchell played a bogey-free round to improve on his first-round score by 11 strokes.
See you Thursday!
Beth Murrison
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Tracking The Second Round
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This morning, Texas got off to a hot start and stood nine under par through nine holes. They came back down to earth a little bit and finished at 5-under 283, tied with South Carolina, which was a sizzling 6 under this morning, led by a 4-under 68 from Steve Liebler.
Now it's Alabama's turn. After finishing the first round three strokes behind Texas, the team from the Yellowhammer State has soared to the top of the leaderboard after nine holes this afternoon. Will Swift is 2 under and Talbert Griffin is 3 under. through nine Be interesting to see if they can hold that lead on their second nine holes.
Ohio is four under through its first nine holes today and currently stands second, three strokes behind Alabama and one ahead of Texas and South Carolina, who both played this morning.
Speaking of Texas, had a chance to speak with Jonathan Mathias earlier today. He's playing well for the Lone Star State in his first USGA event since the 1990 U.S. Junior Amateur. Mathias was supposed to play in the U.S. Amateur Public Links in July but had to withdraw at the last minute. You can read what led to his WD here.
And for anyone curious, to call it warm here would be an understatement. The humidity is, well, impressive.
Beth Murrison
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Wrapping Up Day One
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And day one is in the books. Texas looks strong, but several other teams are quite capable of making a run at the Lone Star State. Alabama came close in 2005, and Tennessee has won it before. Or could this be the year for a new state to claim the title, like Oregon, Utah or Ohio?
Texas' impressive day-one total of 137 is not the lowest first-round score in the championship's history. Four teams have previously posted a first-round 135. Most recently, South Carolina did so at the 2005 championship.
More tomorrow!
Beth Murrison
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Reunited
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The trifecta from Nevada was kind enough to stop by the media room for a visit earlier this afternoon. The trio of Brady Exber, David Nelson and Frank Acker are jointly representing the state for the first time since the inaugural Men's State Team in 1995.
It's obvious they're enjoying their joint return, which they are referring to as "The Reunion."
"It's Frank's fault, for not making the team more often," joked Nelson.
While this is the sixth State Team for Exber and the fifth for Nelson, it is just the second for Acker. But it's not entirely Acker's fault. Nevada has two golf associations - the Northern Nevada Golf Association and the Southern Nevada Golf Association. Every two years, one of the two associations is allowed to select two players while the other selects one. Then, for the next championship, they switch.
"It's almost impossible to have the same three guys," said Nelson of the rotating selection schedule.
But here they are again. And happy to be reunited.
Beth Murrison
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Quick Hits
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A few interesting statistics about the field at this year's USGA Men's State Team Championship:
There are 80 players appearing in their first Men's State Team.
Nine of the 52 teams are comprised completely of newcomers - Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, Ohio and Oregon.
Frank Vana Jr. of Massachusetts and Keith Decker of Virginia are both appearing in their seventh State Team. They are the only two in the field to have played in all seven championships.
There are four players for whom this is their sixth State Team - Brady Exber of Nevada, Paul Simson of North Carolina and Tennessee's Danny Green and Tim Jackson.
Three teams are making a repeat performance as a trio at a Men's State Team. Nebraska's Jayson Brueggemann, Patrick Duffy and John Sajevic also played together in the 2003 and 2005 championships. Dan Arvanitis, Phil Pleat and Craig Steckowych previously teamed to represent New Hampshire in 2001.
But no team has waited longer to play together again than the one from Nevada. Exber last teamed with Frank Acker and David Nelson at the 1995 championship. Exber has played in four since then and Nelson has played in three others, but this is Acker's first appearance since that 1995 event.
And because we haven't kept stats on this sort of thing we can't say for sure but it's unlikely the Men's State Team has ever had a younger team than Hawaii's 2007 squad, which has an average age of 16 (Taeksoo Kim, 16; Henry Park, 17; and Bradley Shigezawa, 15).
Beth Murrison
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Welcome!
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Greetings from the 2007 USGA Men's State Team Championship at The Woodlands, Texas, just north of Houston. We're at the Fazio Course at The Club at Carlton Woods.
Thus far, things have gone wonderfully. Carlton Woods has gone above and beyond in terms of making everyone feel welcome. Last night, the club held a welcome party for everyone involved in the men's and women's State Teams - players, officials and other guests. There were people on horseback welcoming guests as they drove down the tree-lined driveway. Once at the party, there was a band, dancers, and a variety of entertainment.
But what the players have found most impressive thus far is the Fazio golf course. Players have raved about both the layout and the course conditions. We'll see if they still feel that way after playing today's first round.
Beth Murrison
Manager, USGA Media Relations
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