THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 15, 1996 TAG: 9610150460
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 39 lines
Nothing like swingin' in the rain.
Just ask Kempsville golfer Adam Cook, who shot five birdies en route to a season-best 68 during a steady drizzle a week ago to lead the field after one day in the Beach District tournament. When a tropical storm washed out the second round, Cook was named district champion.
``It rained an annoying rain most of the day,'' said Cook, who has played since he was 5 years old. ``It was off and on drizzle most of the front nine, and the back nine it came and would last for about five minutes and go away for 10 minutes and come back.''
Cook went to bed that night hearing the rain pelting his roof, and the next morning during third bell, coach Doug Paschall told the junior he was the winner. The good news capped a season of struggle for Cook, who changed his swing over the summer after studying a video and the strokes of his golfing pals.
``He had a rough start at the beginning of the season, shooting in the low 80s almost every match,'' Paschall said. ``Four matches from the end of the season, he shot a 76, then the next match it was a 73, then a 78 and a 75 and then a 68 in the tournament.''
Cook says it took a while to adjust to his new style, which is now more textbook. At districts, he went in just hoping to hang with defending champion Kevin Miller of Salem and 1994 state champion Matt Paulson of Cox. But Cook gained some confidence after he mishit a drive on one of the par-3s in the back nine and recovered for par. With a boost from the weather, he wound up edging Ryan Garland of Cox by one stroke for the title.
Still Cook would have preferred to win the traditional way.
``I wanted to come back and play the next day; I really did,'' he says. ``I had mixed feelings about it, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to play. I didn't want there to be any doubt, so I'm looking to regionals to try to put two good rounds together.'' by CNB