It has been months since the
tees at the Logan Country Club have been free of frost and snow. And it could
be months more before they're once again ready for play.
Yet Utah State University's
Tanner Higham is playing some of the best golf of his life.
Despite Cache County's icy fairways and snow-covered putting greens — and the limited practice opportunities
that have resulted — Higham shot his way into a three-way tie for first place
in the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational, held in St. George on Feb. 11 and
12. The Shelley, Idaho junior's finish marked the first time an Aggie
golfer has won or tied for first place in a tournament since 1996.
Higham, who didn't finish
any higher than seventh place last season, also scored sixth overall at the
Folino Invitational, hosted by California State University Fullerton on Tuesday
in Industry, Calif.
Higham was named the Western
Athletic Conference Golf Athlete of the Week for Feb. 11-17, becoming the first
USU golf athlete to receive the award in nearly a year. He also was named the
America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the same
time period.
“To have Tanner play that
well in the middle of February, when there is two feet of snow on the ground,
just shows what kind of a person he is,” said head coach Dean Johansen.
Higham said he plays more
conservatively in the winter season and takes fewer risks in order to perform
better in competitions.
“Something that our coach
always talks about and that I’ve tried to implement is to not try to hit shots
that you’d try during the summer or when you’re totally on top of your game,”
Higham said.
Despite a fully-funded golf
program with scholarship opportunities, Johansen said the weather conditions
must be discussed with potential Aggie golfers when recruiting.
“I don’t tell them we live
in a banana belt when we don’t,” he said. “I’ve been very fortunate with kids
that are willing to put in the extra effort. Golf is just like any sport — if
you don’t do it on a regular basis you lose a little bit of your touch. These
guys are good enough they get it back fairly quick.”
Despite the warnings, freshman Seokwon
Jeon said he's had some trouble adjusting to Utah State’s abnormal golf season.
To avoid playing during the coldest months of winter, Utah State's season is
split into two shorter seasons that optimize the use of warmer parts of the
year.
“It’s stressful not being able to practice when you have a tournament coming up,” Jeon said. “It’s kind of hard on me mentally. I feel like I’m stressed going into the tournament because I’m not preparing — because I’m not practicing every day.”
The team's players travel to
Ogden several times a week in order to practice at an indoor range. The team
also travels to St. George two to three times a year to prepare for
tournaments.
“We’ve come out the last
couple springs sharper than we ever have in the past, so it seems to be working
so far,” Johansen said.
Despite frequent travel for
practice and tournaments, Johansen said the golfers on his team have maintained
a combined GPA of 3.5.
“It’s amazing how hard these
kids work,” Johansen said. “I have a picture of my kids in the Orange County
Airport, and they’re all, every one of them, just lined up on their computers
doing homework. The 10 kids I have now are very serious about their education —
it comes first.”
In spite of the challenges
inherent this tome of year, Johansen said his players are all improving en
route to the Western Athletic Conference tournament in May.
“The WAC, right now, is
there for the taking,” he said.
Cale Patterson, Clayton Leuba, Tessa Italasano and
Ileana Borunda contributed to this article.
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