Sept. 13, 2007
– You have no seniors on this team. You have a guy with a pretty good resume over two years (Cameron Tringale) with a lot of accomplishments and an up-and-comer in Chesson Hadley. You have a bunch of other folks you have to compete for those last three spots. Assess what you have coming back and who might emerge?
“We probably have as much uncertainty here as there has been since my second year. Cameron has been a real big part of winning two ACC tournaments and winning when it matters. Chesson’s last three finishes were tremendous, those are pretty strong performances. You have to assume that those two guys are way ahead of everyone else.
“Taylor Hall has played a considerable amount over the last two years but may have been a little inconsistent. From an experience stand point it would seem that he would have an advantage over everyone else. After that, it’s pretty much just a free-for-all. Adam Cohan and David Dragoo have been in and out of the line-up, but have not really shown a lot in tournaments to this point. They have played some, but not really at a level we need guys to play at in tournaments. I think they are enthused with two starters out and an opportunity for them to be successful. And we have one true freshmen who had a good summer and now just needs to go to Georgia Tech and be able to get it all done.
Based on what Tringale and Hadley did in the summer time, is there any reason they can’t just build up on what they have done to this point?
“Probably not. The maturity that Chesson gained in the fall proved helpful in the spring, and he should only continue to grow. Going to school, traveling, getting al this stuff down and making decisions should only get easier. Cameron has managed that pretty well from the day he walked on campus. I think the challenge for Cameron may be that he has to move into another group of guys. He needs to be included in talk about player of the year awards and make a commitment to do that. He is pretty mature if you compare him with his commitment level and those kind of things to the guys he showed up at college with, and it’s shown. I think he has to find another gear in all those things – commitment, sacrifice of his time and his work if he wants to move to the next level. He is certainly capable of doing that.
How much upside does Hadley have in your mind?
“If Chesson manages his time and takes care of his business, he could play as well as any of those guys that we have here. He drives the ball extremely long and really straight, and I think he’s a really good player. It’s kind of a natural, innate feel for him to hit those shots. If he will take care of his business, and focus on golf and school, then I think the upside for him is tremendous. He can’t play that well when it matters, and not have that potential. It was very important for him to make All American last year, and the only way he was going to do that was if he finished in the top fifteen. And he went out knowing that, and that demonstrated an ability to focus when things are on the line. You would think that would only improve with the additional experience that he gets.”
Tringale was in the hunt entering the final round of both the NCAA regional and NCAA championship, then stumbled on the last day of each. Any cause for concern there?
“It’s just the situation he’s got to deal with. He’s just got to figure out why – was it he tried too hard, was he just trying to be too perfect early in the round? Because it looked like he got off to some rough starts. He’s got to figure out his mental process and that’s all it is. Sometimes you try to be too perfect, and that was the first time he had a chance to win a regional or a national championship. The way he’s played the last hole each of the last two years in the ACC championship meant us winning the championship both years. So I don’t have any issues with his ability to do it.
How much progress has Taylor Hall made over a couple of years?
“I think his consistency is growing. I think that’s really the one thing he’s got to work on. He’s had some rounds that have taken him out of the tournament and some holes that have taken him out of the round early on. But I think he’s grown up a lot. He showed up as a guy who wasn’t brimming with confidence and really struggled his freshman year, and he’s broken through a lot of those things. You would hope that all of those rounds that he’s played that his comfort level should grow each week. He has played some of the finest non-tournament rounds this program has ever seen, and so he’s just got to get in that frame of mind when it counts. He shot a 65 in the ACC Championship two years ago that was huge for us in winning that tournament, and we certainly need him to be able to do that.
The other two guys that are in his class, David Dragoo and Adam Cohan, as you said before, have been in and out of the line up. They still have two years left to create a mark here.
“It’s important for them to look at it that way. You can choose to see the glass is half full or half empty. And if they choose the half empty and stress out, then they may have a hard time. But it’s like I told everybody, we try to be competitive at home and compete here. And the point is to try to express to all of them, you just need to start playing well at some point during the year, start playing winning golf somewhere. We need guys that aren’t worried about beating each other to be fifth man. We need guys that have the desire to go out and be competitive on the road and some of these guys need to really change their mind set as to what they are trying to achieve. We need all nine of these guys looking to try to be All-Americans and to be successful when they get out there if we are going to have a good team.”
Your two guys that were red-shirted last year – John Tyler Griffin and Paul Haley: What have you seen out of them during the last year that gives you some hope for them.
“Over the course of the year, for whatever reason, immaturity, focusing on their academics, really was a challenge for them. I think it took a lot away from their ability, and over the course of the year they have learned to manage that. It’s just the reality of playing major college golf at Georgia Tech. I feel like all eight of the returning players are better than they were when they left here in May. Both of those guys seem to be significantly better, and I think that would produce some better golf for those guys.
William Miller, your only newcomer, brings some very good credentials with him. What do you expect from him?
“He had a very good junior career and actually had a very nice summer. For the most part he was competitive with the guys on the team and in tournaments. I thought he would roll in here brimming with confidence. Any time you enter a new environment, you wonder about your ability, and he’s got to get through that. He’s never been in a qualifier where if you don’t qualify you don’t get to go. That alone is a major adjustment for every kid that we recruit, because they have never been in a situation before where if I don’t play well I don’t get to go. He is a very talented player, and I really think before the year is over we’re going to have nine guys that are pushing each other.
Do you want to see a consistent line up established in the fall, or is it going to bother you if those last couple of spots are different players each time?
“It absolutely makes no difference. In some ways the more guys play, that would be better for the program because it will allow them to stay enthused, make them continue to work hard. The idea is to go and win the tournament. No matter who you are taking, no matter what they have done, I just don’t think you ever take your eye off the prize. I think sometimes the first time a group goes as a group they wonder, those five guys have never won anything together. So they have to learn how to do that, and how to trust and save every single shot and play for each other and do those kinds of things. And that is some of the stuff that we’re going to have to do a lot of learning about this year.”
What is your outlook on the first event at The Farm with the five guys that you’ve got going?
“It’s a great opportunity. There are a lot of people out there who are pretty skeptical about where we are as a program. I think it’s a great opportunity for these five guys who have been pushed by the other four to go up there and let them know that we haven’t quite closed the door here yet. The reason why they haven’t played or haven’t gotten to do some stuff is because guys have been better than they have and those guys have been pretty successful as a group. So I look at it as an opportunity for those guys to learn about themselves and learn that nothing has changed. It’s still Georgia Tech golf, and when we show up at a tournament you know they need to be looking to see who gets out of the van.”
In terms of uncertainty going in, can you draw any comparison between this group and the one two years ago when Castro and Larsen were your only proven returnees?
“The development of Chesson last spring solidified things a little bit more. If you’ve got two guys who can win, then you’ve got a chance, and that’s a good place to start every time you play a tournament. The qualifier demonstrated again with Chesson winning it, that he hasn’t fallen or slipped very far on the golf that he has played. I think he is ready to go. I think he’d rather not wait until the NCAA tournament to try to be an All-American.”
