THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610040231
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 29 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 76 lines
Great Bridge brought the youngest team in the Southeastern District to the golf course this season.
Each week, 15-year-old Pat McDuff and teammates Mike Nemcosky, 14, and Bud Cahoon, also 14, tore up area courses. They won the regular season title and entered the Southeastern District tournament with the No. 1 regional berth under their belts. They finished second to a near-perfect Nansemond River team in the district, then returned to Seven Springs Golf Course for a week of practice.
``I thought we had a pretty solid season,'' McDuff said.
Finishing second in the tournament does not concern coach Chris Osmon or McDuff, his top player throughout the season.
``It would have helped to shoot a good score, it might have given us added confidence,'' McDuff said.
``We talked about it as a team and felt that since we had won the district regular-season title, we didn't see this as being as important,'' Osmon said. ``It didn't concern me that we took second.''
Entering the tournament, the Wildcats were confident of their ability to win. Now, the golfers are eagerly anticipating a run at Beach District powers like Cox and Salem in the region tournament.
``It's a level up,'' McDuff said of facing Ryan Garland, Kevin Miller and Matt Paulson. ``When you play better golfers, I always play better. You have to.''
In high school golf, the players are on their own on the course. No coaching is allowed once the tournament is underway. Therefore, the players have to make spot decisions and become completely responsible for every aspect of their performance.
``It's pretty hard if you're not playing good, but if you're doing well it's OK,'' Nemcosky.
``If you get in the grove, then you just play,'' McDuff said. ``Sometimes nothing's going right.''
The golfers are sometimes updated with scores of opponents and teammates, giving them a vague idea of where they stand and how the day is developing for the team as a whole. If the team is doing poorly, McDuff and Nemcosky work to encourage their teammates.
Of course, there's the individual aspect.
``There's always the individual medalist,'' McDuff said. ``To be the best on any given day or the season. It's really cool when your whole team plays well, when there's a good turnout for the team.''
``You can't rely on other people to pull you through,'' McDuff said. ``You have to maintain your focus, play well.''
For the most part, the Wildcats have maintained poise and focus and walked away with wins and individual honors. Osmon is looking for each player to match his season low in the regional tournament.
``If everyone shoots one stroke under their best this year, we can score 310 in a day and that'll get us in,'' Osmon said. ``We haven't all played our best at the same time. I'm very proud of the kids. They've worked very hard. It's been a fun year because they are such great kids.''
The players, for their part, are keyed up and ready. They entered the season confident they could win the regular-season title. That goal achieved, McDuff, Nemcosky and Cahoon are eyeing a run at the state title.
``It's real exciting to be put in that situation, with the pressure and all,'' McDuff said. ``Getting to go up against people, the competition, the atmosphere.''
This week, the players are working to psych themselves up by continually playing, practicing and discussing golf. Each still has points in his game he wants to fine-tune.
``Putting,'' Nemcosky said. ``I can't putt. I just can't master it.''
Cahoon agreed that putting was the most difficult part of golf to learn.
``It's a mental thing,'' he said.
For McDuff, the entire game of golf is a challenge he has yet to confidently master.
``Everything (is hard about learning golf),'' he said. ``The all-around game. Getting the ball in the hole.''
Of course, he has dominated the district and had virtually no problem demonstrating his prowess on the course this season. Next week, he will see if he achieves his goal of reaching the state tournament.
KEYWORDS: HIGH SCHOOL GOLF by CNB