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The Rice Thresher
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by Rassul Zarinfar for the thresher Freshman Scott Philips took advantage of excellent putting and a heavy rainstorm to capture the individual title at last weekend's El Diablo Intercollegiate golf tournament in Citrus Springs, Fla. The third and final round was canceled due to the rain, leaving Philips at the top of the field of 118 with a two-round score of 140. The performance earned Philips the honor of Western Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week. Philips' strong performance comes on the heels of a second-place individual finish in the Owls' previous tournament, the Southwest Classic in Victoria Feb. 19-20. "I felt like I was able to read the greens and put great strokes on the ball with the putter," Philips said. "[Head] coach [Clay Homan] and I have been working on putting. I'm putting really well right now." If only the rest of the Owls could have followed Philips' lead. The other four Rice golfers struggled through the tournament, and the Owls placed a middle-of-the-pack 11th in the 24-team field. Rice finished with a combined 596 strokes, 17 more than team champion University of Toledo. "We haven't really put together a strong team round," freshman Ryan Morgan, who finished 63rd overall, said. "I really struggled hitting the ball. Saturday was just one of those days you just have to grind it out." The rest of the team had similar problems. Sophomore Bradley Lane finished 54th overall, freshman Winn Smith finished 83rd and sophomore Brandon Jung rounded out the roster in 90th place. "We got off to a so-so start on the first round," Homan said. "We didn't finish well and really struggled. The two rounds took nearly 12 hours to play, since there were 24 teams, and I don't know if we were tired or had a lack of concentration. For whatever reason, we just didn't play well. Hopefully everybody can rally around Scott and get that hunger within themselves to win." One reason for the mediocre outing was the fact that two of the Owls' top players were out due to injury. Senior Chris Connolly has a broken collarbone and sophomore Lee Rowan reaggravated a hand injury that kept him out of action in the fall. Next up for the Owls is the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Intercollegiate Monday and Tuesday, Rice's next-to-last tournament before the Western Athletic Conference Championships April 30-May 2 in Tulsa, Okla. With Connolly expected to return next week and Philips riding a wave of confidence from two stellar outings in a row, the Owls believe the stage is set for them to play their best golf of the year. "Having Chris back will be a big boost in the experience department," Homan said. "We have a chance to do really well. It's just a matter of how they respond to the challenge. Mentally they should be fresh." The sky's the limit for Philips, who is playing some of the most consistent golf Rice has seen in a long time - as a freshman. His individual victory is Rice's first since April 2000, when Drew Conrad won the Border Olympics. Philips is the only current Owl to have won a collegiate individual title. Philips knows, however, that some days won't go as well as his past two tournaments. "It was the greatest achievement in my golf career," he said. "But I'm trying not to put my expectations too high. High expectations don't lead to discipline down the road. I think they lead toward burnout."
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